The 32-year-old Frenchman was one of the main protagonists in the second race of the weekend.
Julian Alaphilippe took his first top three result in Canada, at the end of Sunday’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal – one of the season’s hardest one-day races, consisting of 17 laps of a hilly circuit that made up for a total of 209 kilometers and almost 4000 vertical meters. To add to the difficulty, the riders also had to face the heat, which took its toll on the bunch, who by the time they entered the last two laps, numbered only around two dozen riders.
It was in these final 30 kilometers of the race that Gil Gelders was caught, Soudal Quick-Step’s neo-pro being the one who animated the race the most in the first couple of hours, at first by going in the breakaway, and then fighting hard to stay at the front as much as possible, after his companions had been caught.
When Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) split the peloton with an attack some 23 kilometers from home, opening a gap that in the end proved to be decisive, Alaphilippe tried to organise a chase, instigating what quickly turned into a dangerous move. Three men joined the two-time World Champion, who was the most active there, taking some long pulls in the hope of ensuring the group a nice gap over what was left of the bunch.
On the hardest climb of the last lap, Julian was caught by the chasers, but refused to give up and got out of the saddle again, in an attempt to force another selection. The others responded and the group arrived at the finish some 40 seconds behind the winner, with the third place on the day still in play. On the hard uphill drag to the line, Alaphilippe was the strongest and sprinted to an impressive third place – his 19th podium in a World Tour one-day race.
“The demanding course and the high temperatures made for a hard day, and it was important to save every ounce of energy you could. Gil’s presence in the breakaway helped us do that. When the action began in the last 20 kilometers, I played my cards and gave my best.”
“It was always going to be difficult to cut the gap to Pogacar, but I didn’t give up and tried to form a chasing group. That didn’t work, but I kept believing, and at the end of the day I am happy with my result, especially as it’s my first podium here in Canada. I like the atmosphere and the fans here, and it’s nice to be in the top three after such a difficult race. This result is also an important confidence-boost ahead of the World Championships in Zurich, where I hope to be present together with the French team”, Julian said after the penultimate World Tour one-day race of the season.
Photo credit: ©Alex Broadway / Getty Images
