Two-time World Champion Julian Alaphilippe headlines our seven-man squad for the two World Tour races held in North America.
From Great Britain, where he played an important part in the team’s three stage victories, Julian Alaphilippe will now go to Canada, to lead Soudal Quick-Step at the two one-day races scheduled in the weekend. The first of these events will be the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, which will see the peloton cover 16 laps of a 12.6km circuit that includes four demanding climbs: Côte de la Montagne (375 m, 10%), Côte de la Potasse (420 m, 9%), Montée de la Fabrique (190 m, 7%) and Montée du Fort (1000 m, 4%).
Just two days later, the bunch will take on the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal (209.1 kilometers), another race run on a local circuit, this time 12.3 kilometers in length, similar to the one used at the World Championships won by Eddy Merckx exactly five decades ago. Côte Camillien-Houde (1800 m, 8%), Côte de Polytechnique (780 m, 6%) and Avenue du Parc (560 m, 4%) will be the day’s three difficulties, which should fragment the peloton and advantage the attackers, especially in the closing laps.
Joining the double World Champion on the Soudal Quick-Step seven-man squad will be three neo-pros – Gil Gelders, Antoine Huby and Luke Lamperti – Fausto Masnada, Pieter Serry and Ilan Van Wilder.
“Quebec and Montreal are two of the most beautiful one-day races in this second part of the season, and the parcours there can make for some spectacular racing. The riders are motivated for these next World Tour appointments, and knowing we can play several cards in the weekend makes us confident in our chances of scoring some good results before returning to Europe”, explained sports director Davide Bramati.
Photo credit: ©SWpix
