Evenepoel, Del Toro and Seixas all came away from the Canadian GPs with something to build on as Montreal Worlds looms.
Cor Vos
The Canadian GPs in Quebec and Montreal always make for vital viewing ahead of the world championships, but the spotlight shone even brighter on the two biggest road races in North America this weekend. With the elite men’s road race in Montreal now just two weeks away, the GP Québec and especially the GP Montréal gave some big stars a chance to show off their form on similar or identical roads to those that will host the battle for rainbow bands.
Remco Evenepoel, Isaac del Toro, and Paul Seixas were among the headliners for the tuneup tandem, and in a boon to fans and organizers alike, each of them delivered in their own way.
Evenepoel confirms his Worlds favorite status in Quebec
Fittingly for the sake of conceptual symmetry, the bookies’ number one favorite for Worlds also won the first of the two races this weekend, so we’ll set the scene here in chronological order. Evenepoel was flying in Quebec, where he rolled the dice to join a group of attackers on the penultimate lap of the circuit in the final 30 km. Heading into the last lap with Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility), Evenepoel did much of the work to keep a strong chase group at bay.
Behind, Del Toro dropped from the chase group in what seemed like a concerning sign – more on that in a bit.
A surge from Evenepoel on the long uphill run to the line dropped Charmig and then Evenepoel outkicked Ciccone to take a victory that showcased every aspect of his toolbox: his attacking acumen, his engine, his climbing legs, and even his finishing kick. With Seixas a nonfactor in a group that arrived nearly a minute later and Del Toro much further back, Evenepoel came out of Friday’s race looking every bit the favorite for Worlds, where the harder Montreal route would seem to suit him even more than the GP Québec.
As it turned out, Evenepoel missed a key split at the GP Montréal. He did bridge up to the lead group in another display of strength, but he did not have enough left in the tank to follow the winning move, and ultimately settled for fifth. In the end, it was still a strong showing to cap off a good weekend for Evenepoel, who said after both races that he had not felt great. Maybe we should take that with a grain of salt, but if he is feeling even better in two weeks at the helm of a strong Belgian team, he will be very hard to beat on the Côte Camillien Houde and maybe even in a reduced sprint.
Fortunately for those hoping for a tight battle at Worlds, the two riders who could be Evenepoel’s biggest challengers were the two riders who battled for the GP Montréal win.
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