Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec 2016

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec City, 201.6km

Climbers and sprinters set to battle on the streets of Quebec and Montreal - Preview 

Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec City - start list

If you're just joining the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec City coverage, there are roughly 80km to go of the 201.6km one-day race.

There is currently a breakaway of eight riders that are racing along the shores of the St Lawrence River, and they are about to make the left-hand turn onto the circuit's decisive climb Col de la Montagne, where KOM points are scored each lap.

Eight rider in the breakaway included Valerio Agnoli (Astana), Lars Bak (Lotto-Soudal), Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Twan Castelijns (LottoNL-Jumbo), Matt Brammeier (Dimension Data), Alexandre Pichot (Direct Energie), Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18) and Nicolas Masbourain (Canada).

Canada's Masbourain has taken the lead of the KOM competition after winning the last set of points on the Col de la Montagne.

90km remaining from 201km

The leaders are now racing through the start-finish line along the Grande Allee and will see seven laps to go.

If you're not familiar with the race in Quebec City, it is a 12.6km circuit and racers complete 16 laps for a total of 201.6km.

The riders lined up this morning, no doubt glad that the heavy rain had subsided, for the start of the race along the Grande Allée.

On the first lap, they descend through Les Plaines d'Abraham park to the Rue Champlain and raced along the picturesque St. Lawrence river before making a turn back up through the walls of old Quebec City.

The rest of the course is littered with puncheur-style climbs, particularly over the steep Rue de la Montagne (the KOM), a short but steep climb at roughly 10 per cent that tends to cause the main field to dwindle on each lap.

They also race over the Cote de la Potasse before making their way back around passed the famed Chateau de Frontenac and onto the Grande Allée for roughly 500 metres on a steady uphill to the finish line.

The breakaway is enjoying a 3:20-minute lead as they orbit the circuit. Behind, BMC is at the front, along with riders from Orica-BikeExchange.

The breakaway is racing though the Grande Allee with 6 laps to go and the gap is shrinking, now down to 2:40

75km remaining from 201km

Etixx-QuickStep is setting the pace at the head of the main field up the drag to toward the finish line with some help from Tinkoff. 

The riders are passing their team-designated tents set up along the Grande Allee where their team staff are handing out water bottles and musette bags full of food for their respective riders.

Runner-up at the Tour of Alberta, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), is floating through the peloton as the main field descends through Les Plaines d'Abraham, the pavement twists and turns through the park before dropping down to the St Lawrence.

World champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) also looks like he is racing with relative ease. His teammates are positioned toward the front of the field but he is sitting a little further back in the bunch.

He is currently leading the WorldTour ranking and is in Canada looking for additional WorldTour points on offer in Quebec City today and Montreal on Sunday.

70km remaining from 201km

The peloton has reached the base of the park and are down along Rue Champlain. The field is strung out but there are only four riders doing the bulk of the work each lap with Canadian Christian Meier (Orica-BikeExchange) on the front at the moment.

Meier is set to retire at the end of this season, so this race and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal, will be important for his farewell tour.

You can read the full story on his retirement here.

Fans are running up the Rue de la Montagne as Masbourain picks up another set of KOM points from the breakaway.

But Barta attacks the breakaway on the Cote de la Potasse to pick up those set of points, and assumes the lead of the KOM competition.

Barta now leads the KOM with 5 points ahead of Masbourain with 4 points and Castelijns with 2 points.

64km remaining from 201km

The main field is now at the top of the Rue de la Montagne and Sagan is bringing up the rear, sitting on the back, which is not his usual style of racing.

He told the press that he has not been feeling well lately, and this could be affecting his race today.

The breakaway is riding along the Grande Allee seeing 5 laps to go. Everyone is working well together.

Tinkoff and Orica-BikeExchange continue to pull the field up the Grande Allee, 2:05 behind the breakaway.

Leading the field on each lap are Christian Meier (Orica), Laurens De Plus (Etixx-QuickStep) and now Michael Valgren Andersen (Tinkoff).

There is no major effort to reduce the gap further at the moment, and the rest of the field and teams, seem content to let the trio set the pace for now.

53km remaining from 201km

The gap to the eight-rider breakaway is slowly dropping, now down to 1:21. They are over Rue de la Montagne, but the peloton is at the base of the climb, not far behind.

BMC's Manuel Senni is doing most of the damage from the front of the field, really setting a quick pace over the tougher sections of the course.

His work up front is causing Sagan to struggle on the back of the field.

Barta picked up more KOM points and now has 7 points total to lead that classification.

Bak has attacked the breakaway as the approach the Grande Allee, while Masbourain is trying to bridge across.

50km remaining from 201km

Bak is crossing through the start-finish line with about a 15-second lead as Masbourain is desperately trying to link up with the solo leader. 

They are seeing 4 laps to go.

The peloton is now coming through the start-fiish line, only a minute behind the remnants of the breakaway. It's LottoNL-Jumbo is leading the chase.

Bak has cleared the breakaway and is solo ahead of his former breakaway companions who are about to be caught by the main field.

Agnoli, Brammeier and Belkov are being swept up by the field.

And it's De Plus from Etixx-QuickStep who is again setting the pace at the front of the field. It's really only been a handful of riders who have been designated to work at the front of the field today.

BMC's Senni is now joined by his teammate Marcus Burghardt to help do some of the work.

Bak is racing along the Rue Champlain and in TT mode. He holds a 45-second gap but it might not be enough to hold off the main field as he hits the next climb over the Rue de la Montagne.

Bak makes the left hand turn onto the Rue de la Montagne with a 35-second lead.

He looks back over his shoulder to see where the peloton is.

Astana, Tinkoff and BMC are at the front of the field as they hit the climb.

LottoNL-Jumbo attacks with Astana.

The two are joined by an Etixx-QuickStep rider

Orica-BikeExchange have brought back that three-rider move. But Bak remains out front.

Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) has attacked with 39km to go, as Luke Rowe (Team Sky) follows, and the pair have a gap.

38km remaining from 201km

Alaphilippe and Rowe are turning onto the Grande Allee seeing three laps to go, and the duo have a 15-second lead.

Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo) has jumped out of the field in an attempt to bridge across to Alaphilippe and Rowe, but he is not successful.

Alaphilippe drives the pace along the Grande Allee, as Rowe sits on.

The main field is splitting apart through the start-finish line as riders try and attack to bridge to the two breakaway riders.

Rowe now takes a turn on the front, giving Alaphilippe a bit of reprieve, as they descend through the park, down to the Rue Champlain.

Rowe and Alaphilippe have quickly gained 40 seconds.

Rowe continues to take a big pull through the headwind section through the park, as Alaphilippe sits on his wheel.

Movistar, Lotto Soudal and AG2R La Mondiale, along with Astana, are at the front of the field. 

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) is looking a little more comfortable now, sitting in the middle of the bunch.

Alaphilippe takes his turn leading the two-man breakaway but their gap has dropped to just 15 seconds.

The pair make the left hand turn onto the Rue Champlain but they are quickly followed by the bunch.

There are a series of splits in the field, but many of those are closing along the St Lawrence river, and the field will likely be back together before the penultimate climb over Rue de la Montagne.

Defending champion Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) is still in the field and looking comfortable.

Alaphilippe and Rowe still hold an 11-second lead, and the field bunches up along the wide-open boulevard ahead of the climb.

The breakaway have pick dup more time and enter the Rue de la Montagne with a 25-second lead.

32km remaining from 201km

Alaphilippe is by himself on the Rue de la Montagne climb, but he is looking back to see Rowe get swept up by the field.

The Frenchman has picked up the pace, and realizes that he is now in a solo breakaway. Team Sky moves to the front to chase him down.

And he has been caught.

The field is back together but Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data) and Frank Schleck (Trek-Segafredo) make an attack.

Three new riders try to go clear along the Grande Allee, with 2 laps to go (25km).

Fabio Aru (Astana) has now come to the front and stretches out the field as they descend through the park. There looks to be a small split of 15 riders.

The 15 riders have opened 20 seconds on the rest of the field.

Lampre-Merida have two riders in that breakaway with Rui Costa.

There does'nt seem to be any organization between the riders in the breakaway, many looking at Costa and Aru, and perhaps not wanting to work.

That large group is swept up by the main field with 20km to go. But there is one rider left out front, Matej Mohoric (Lampre-Merdia).

Mohoric is sitting on his top tube in a super-tuck position, spinning his legs out along the flatter sections of Rue Champlain.

He only has a 10-second gap and will soon take the lefthand turn back up the steep Rue de la Montagne.

Orica-BikeExchange has assembled three or four riders at the front of the main field.

17km remaining from 201km

Mohoric is biding his time out front, but he is insight of the main field.

Mohoric is on the steep climb.

The final two times up the climb offer 10 points each, up from 3 points during the previous laps.

Orica-BikeExchange have Daryl Impey on the front driving the pace, and two of his teammates have fallen off pace on the climb.

Impey has successfully brought back Mohoric, and the field is back together.

Bora-Argon18's Paul Voss, jumps out of the field to take the full points at the top of the climb.

Voss has passed the Chateau Frontenac and is back on the Grande Allee riding toward the start-finish line seeing 1 lap to go.

Orica-BikeExchange is still on the front dragging the field along the start-finish stretch, trying to keep this field together.

There are still about 60 riders in the bunch.

Voss continues to lead the race with an 18-second lead, and 12km to go.

Orica-BikeExchange are likely saving Adam Yates for the final climb, and if that fails, they have a punchy sprinter in Michael Matthews.

Attacks are coming out of the main field as they descend through the park. but Orica-BikeExchange are holding this together.

Jesus Herrada Lopez (Movistar) crashes at the back of the field.

Voss is pushing to hold 10 seconds, but there are attacks coming out of the field from Astana and IAM Cycling.

Tinkoff have now moved to the front of the field, although we have not seen Sagan since the last lap, we can assume he is still there.

8km to go.

Sagan is there, about 20 wheels back, and Tinkoff are putting their efforts into helping him win today.

Sagan has won the GP de Montreal, can he win here today?

Voss has only 6 seconds on the field, and all are back down on the Rue Champlain, racing along the St Lawrence River.

AG2R takes over the pace setting as the field head toward the Rue de la Montagne for the last time.

Sagan is sitting on BMC's Greg Van Avermaet's wheel, the gold medallist at the Olympic Games last month.

Oliver Naesen (IAM Cycling) has a small gap.

Team Sky has now taken over the front, but FDJ are pulling up along side, as the are about 200 metres away from entering the climb.

The IAM rider has been caught.

There are 3.5km to go, but the most challenging side of the course.

Bodnar leads the race into the climb and Sagan is sitting on his wheel.

Matteo Trentin (Etixx) attacks on the climb.

Trentin has two riders chasing him, teammate and a Team Sky rider.

Etixx have Trentin and Julian Alaphilippe are together off the front with Team Sky's Gianni Moscon.

And Moscon attacks the two Etixx riders and gets a gap.

Sky's Moscon has built a lead of a few hundre metres on Etixx teammates Alaphilippe and Trentin.

Alaphilippe is sacrificing himself to get Trentin back in the move.

Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale), the defending champion blows passed Trentin and Mascon.

Uran is building a gap with 1km to go.

He is on his way to the finish line after that surprise attack.

200 metres to go and Uran is on his way to the line. Sagan is sprinting behind.

And Sagan takes the win!

Peter Sagan will be pleased with that victory, to add to his Montreal win back in 2013.

Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) is forced to settle for second place and Anthony Roux (FDJ) third.

Sagan said after the race, "I felt like I didn't need to go full gas on the last two climbs because the end is so hard. The last km was a headwind, Rigoberto tried like last year, but today was different.

"The last km was very fast, after 200km. I saw Rigoberto go, and I thought maybe we would play for second, but he slowed toward the end because it was so hard. The FDJ rider started the sprint and I was there, OK. It was unbelievable."

Here are the top 10:

1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team 05:07:13
2 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 00:00:00
3 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 00:00:00
4 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Dapac 00:00:00
5 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange 00:00:00
6 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data 00:00:00
7 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - Merida 00:00:00
8 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:00
9 Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Dimension Data 00:00:00
10 Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha 00:00:00

We hope you enjoyed our live coverage of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec City.

The riders will reunite on the start line at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal on Sunday.