In his first victory for new team Tudor, French buccaneer Julian Alaphilippe won Friday’s 14th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, attacking from a late breakaway on the final climb to take the day’s spoils. He’s the third French victor. Hugo Houle was top Canadian in 44th.
Alaphilippe celebrates with teammates. Photo: Yves Perret/YP Medias
The Course
The route consisted of eighteen 12.6-km city laps each containing the 600-metre, 8.8 percent climb up Côte de la Montagne Glacis, where the finish line would come after 216 km.
The fourteenth edition. Image by La Flamme Rouge
Record three-time winner Michael Matthews was back, as was last year’s runner-up Biniam Girmay and 2023 victor Arnaud de Lie. Matthews finished ninth and De Lie eighth.
Matthews with the hat trick last September. Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn
The Canadians were Michael Leonard, Guillaume Boivin and Hugo Houle (in their 12th and 11th GPCQ respectively), Quentin Cowan, Jérôme Gauthier, Léonard Peloquin, Félix Bouchard, Samuel Couture, Philippe Jacob and Félix Hamel.
Team Canada averaged 21 years old. Photo: Grégoire Crevier
It’s a tradition that members of Team Canada go out in the day’s breakaway. Last year it was Jonas Walton and Hamel, and this time it was Jacob and Bouchard. With two other non-Canadians, they rolled up a six-minute lead. The Tudor team took point in the peloton.
Bouchard, Jacob, Filip Maciejuk and Luca Vergallito on Lap 4. Photo: Grégoire Crevier
On Lap 9, Jacobs was dropped and Belgian champion Tim Wellens lit it up on the Côte de la Montagne. Wellens’ efforts created a few groups going into Lap 10. Alaphilippe was the centrepiece of a small group that tried to bridge to the break on the next lap.
With four laps to go, the break was 2:39 ahead of the peloton, with the Alaphilippe gang in between. The Côte de la Montagne elicited another move–namely Mattias Skjelmose and Pavel Sivakov–that reinforced the Alaphilippe group. Bouchard went backwards from the day’s escape.
Three laps to go: the break and chase came together and tried to elude the Visma-Lease a Bike-led field. An Astana breakaway duo pushed the pace on the penultimate climb. Pogacar attacked from the peloton and picked up some escapees. When they heard the bell, Alaphilippe, Skjelmose and Sivakov were 13 seconds ahead of the world champion.
The world champion animates the race late in the penultimate lap.
The final lap saw the breakaway benefit from infighting in Pogacar’s chase. Alberto Bettiol, Alaphilippe and Sivakov attacked at the foot of Montagne. Alaphilippe then surged away from the two riders who would join him on the podium.
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal runs Sunday.
2025 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
1) Julian Alaphilippe (France/Tudor) 5:04:32
2) Pavel Sivakov (France/UAE-Emirates) +0:02
3) Alberto Bettiol (Italy/Astana) +0:04
44) Hugo Houle (Canada/IPT) +1:02