{"id":895565,"date":"2026-09-14T15:40:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/895565\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T15:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:40:13","slug":"what-evenepoel-seixas-del-toro-said-after-gp-quebec-and-montreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/895565\/","title":{"rendered":"What Evenepoel, Seixas, Del Toro Said after GP Qu\u00e9bec and Montr\u00e9al"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated September 14, 2026 09:18AM<\/p>\n

Remco Evenepoel<\/a>, Paul Seixas<\/a>, and Isaac del Toro<\/a> went to the GP Qu\u00e9bec and GP Montr\u00e9al to test their legs for the Canadian road worlds.<\/p>\n

The Grand Prixes duly delivered the insights they wanted and rubber-stamped them as favorites for a world championship blown open by the absence of Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/a><\/p>\n

Seixas botched his sprint at GP Montr\u00e9al but is quietly bullish about winning an elite world title aged 20.<\/p>\n

Evenepoel won GP Qu\u00e9bec so emphatically he could debut a bizarre new celebration,<\/a> but said a bus ride beat him down at GP Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

And Del Toro? Everyone started calling him the favorite for road worlds after he won GP Montr\u00e9al<\/a>, but he\u2019s having none of it.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what these three rainbow jersey hopefuls said after GP Qu\u00e9bec and Monr\u00e9al as they build toward road worlds:<\/p>\n

Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe \/ Belgium)<\/p>\n

Plenty of excuses, plenty of expectations
GP Qu\u00e9bec: 1st
GP Montr\u00e9al: 5th<\/p>\n

\"EvenepoelEvenepoel is targeting a rare TT-road race double at the Montr\u00e9al road worlds. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Remco Evenepoel came out swinging in his Canadian double.<\/p>\n

At GP Montr\u00e9al on Friday, \u201cGolden Remco\u201d lit up the decisive attack before he outsprinted Giulio Ciccone at the line. He was so unflustered he had time to debut his bizarre new \u201cmonocle\u201d celebration.<\/p>\n

There was no double delight for Evenepoel on Sunday, however. The 26-year-old couldn\u2019t hang with the decisive moves on the decisive final lap and had to make do with fifth.<\/p>\n

Evenepoel\u2019s rainbow jersey campaign begins in less than a week when he defends his title this Sunday at the men\u2019s elite time trial. He will, of course, also be back for the road race.<\/p>\n

What Evenepoel said:<\/p>\n

Evenepoel was charactersically blunt when he told Wielerflits<\/a> and the massed media Sunday he was pooped after traveling from Europe, racing in Qu\u00e9bec, and then transferring to Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t feel good in the final. I think I hadn\u2019t really recovered from Quebec and the journey on Saturday. But it\u2019s better to have a bad day today than in two weeks,\u201d Evenepoel said. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t underestimate the fatigue. Especially with the little time we have and the amateurish journey we have to make between the two races [riders had to make the long transfer between Quebec and Montreal by bus \u2013 ed].<\/p>\n

\u201cBut anyway, that applies to everyone. I just didn\u2019t feel really good. I\u2019m never really good in wet weather either. And I\u2019m still fifth. If this was a bad day, it\u2019s not very bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not drawing any conclusions from this. In two weeks, it will be another sixty kilometers longer, I think. Then it will be a very different race, with much more fatigue,\u201d Evenepoel said Sunday.<\/p>\n

And what about that weird celebration<\/a> in Qu\u00e9bec?<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted something new. The phone call celebration [made famous at the Paris Olympics \u2013 ed] is something I copied. I had to look for a gesture that is mine,\u201d Evenepoel told HLN<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought about it for a month with Oumi. We decided this morning on a phone call. Hopefully, it will become my signature celebration \u2026 although I don\u2019t know if it looked good.\u201d<\/p>\n

And no, the gesture doesn\u2019t have some special meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still need to think about that carefully,\u201d Evenepoel told HLN. \u201cI was able to carry it out, that is the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Seixas: (Decathlon CMA CGM \/ France)<\/p>\n

No victories, but winning the mind games
GP Qu\u00e9bec: 17th
GP Montr\u00e9al: 2nd<\/p>\n

\"\"Seixas will turn 20 just days before the worlds road race. He\u2019s not letting age be an excuse. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Paul Seixas was all over the front of the race at GP Qu\u00e9bec, but came away unrewarded. The 19-year-old was active in all the chase moves in the final 40km on Friday but couldn\u2019t do enough to bridge back in time to contest the win.<\/p>\n

Seixas didn\u2019t miss out two days later in Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

The French teenager forced the decisive attack of the day Sunday but was caught out by Del Toro in the final sprint.<\/p>\n

What Seixas said:<\/p>\n

Seixas admitted some rookie errors when he spoke at the finish in Montr\u00e9al on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a moment of inattention when I was trying to see how close the chasers were. I couldn\u2019t spot the 200-meter sign, and just like that, he [Del Toro] took off,\u201d Seixas told reporters at the finish. \u201cHe caught me by surprise and played it really well. In the end, he was simply stronger, so that\u2019s how it goes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that I can do better. I think we will see that at the world championships. This is what I expected and what I have been working towards over the past two weeks since the Tour de France.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seixas said Sunday in Montr\u00e9al he gassed himself when he went deep to make the final selection.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s got less than two weeks to refine his top-end.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy strength lies more in making a difference over a longer effort and then being able to accelerate again at the top. I gave too much during my effort to ride away and couldn\u2019t push on again,\u201d Seixas said Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a very good excuse for me to work on my punch. That is what I am going to work on heading into the worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isaac del Toro: (UAE Emirates-XRG \/ Mexico)<\/p>\n

Avoiding all expectation
GP Qu\u00e9bec: 55th
GP Montr\u00e9al: 1st<\/p>\n

\"IsIs Del Toro a favorite for road worlds? He doesn\u2019t seem to want to admit it. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images )<\/p>\n

Isaac del Toro went AWOL in the final hour of racing at GP Montr\u00e9al and finished distinctly mid-pack.<\/p>\n

\u201cTorito\u201d made his presence well felt in Montr\u00e9al, however.<\/p>\n

The Mexican ace showed all his canny and race craft on Sunday by tracking Paul Seixas\u2019 haymaker attack at 12km to go and outpunching young Paul in the final sprint.<\/p>\n

What Del Toro said:<\/p>\n

The GP Montr\u00e9al on Sunday was hailed as the ultimate test for the world championship road race. The race for rainbows on September 27 borrows many parts of the Grand Prix\u2019s parcours.<\/p>\n

However, Del Toro was quick to downplay any speculation that his win on Sunday promoted him to top favorite for the world title.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we are human beings. Not every day will be super,\u201d Del Toro said Sunday in his winner\u2019s interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to say I\u2019m a favorite. This is still cycling,\u201d Del Toro later told reporters in his press conference. \u201cA lot can change in two weeks, You can catch illness or suddenly not feel at your best during a match. Ultimately, we are only human. Not every day can be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Del Toro admitted he wasn\u2019t feeling like a potential world champion at either Qu\u00e9bec or Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

That he still went and won on Sunday should be considered a warning shot to all his rivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw in the Quebec GP that I wasn\u2019t that good. I didn\u2019t feel super good on Sunday either,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cThe feeling isn\u2019t what I had hoped for, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n