Now in their 11th year of existence, the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal have firmly established themselves on the WorldTour calendar, drawing a broad congregation of Classics specialists and Grand Tour riders to Canada each September.
A cursory glance at the roll of honour since Thomas Voeckler claimed the inaugural GP Québec tells it own tale. Over the past decade, the races have affirmed themselves as prizes worth winning in their own right. Only the grandees of the peloton seem to triumph in Canada, men like Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews, Greg Van Avermaet, Rigoberto Urán and Philippe Gilbert.
In 2019 Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) again responded to a frustrating Tour de France with victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. In 2018, despite his sparkling late-season form, Matthews had already been deemed surplus to requirement for the Australian team for the World Championships in Innsbruck. In 2019 his repeat victory felt like confirmation of his place among the elite caste of Classics riders.
As is so often the case in the Canadian WorldTour races, the final lap in Québec doubled as a roll call of the men most likely to pull on the rainbow bands. Julian Alaphilippe’s late attack was tracked by both Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet. If Matthews was marked absent there, then he amply compensated with a searing sprint from distance on the Grande Allée.
