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2015 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal: Tim Wellens outmuscles Yates in the rain

Belgian Tim Wellens of Lotto-Soudal outdueled breakmate Adam Yates (Great Britain/Orica-GreenEdge) to take the biggest one-day victory of his career in Sunday's sixth edition of the WorldTour Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.

September 13, 2015
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The last three laps were drenched in downpour. (Image: Ivan Rupes)
The last three laps were drenched in downpour. (Image: Ivan Rupes)

Belgian Tim Wellens of Lotto-Soudal outdueled breakmate Adam Yates (Great Britain/Orica-GreenEdge) to take the biggest one-day victory of his career in Sunday’s sixth edition of the WorldTour Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. Rain tipped from the sky to bookend the race, and less than half of the 167-rider field finished the race.

The Montréal course contained a longer climb than Québec’s, but a gentler rise to the finish line than in the provincial capital. The big climb up Cote Camillien-Houde came early in the circuit and on Lap 1, Thomas Voeckler (France/Europcar) and Julian Arredondo (Colombia/Trek) used it to initiate a 14-rider breakaway that survived 2.5 wet laps intact.

Some of the men from the early breakaway animated the action on the following few laps, with Movistar’s Marc Soler (Spain) passing over Camillien-Houde in the lead for two laps and getting in a nineteen-man move on Laps 7 and 8.

World champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland/Etixx-QuickStep) was the dynamo of the next breakaway, but once more the fugitives were caught.

Voeckler attacked Camillien-Houde on the 10th lap of 17, receiving two helpers who pulled the move 1:25 ahead of the pack by the next circuit. Belgian Louis Vervaeke of Lotto-Soudal was the next to top Camillien-Houde twice in succession as the trio kept the gap. A further reinforcement, Andriy Grivko from Astana, arrived just before Lap 13.

The new Ukrainian showed his ambition by nipping over the KOM points. The pelting rain had let up in the middle of the race but returned for the final laps. The peloton entered the third-from-last lap 1:55 down and numbering 65.

Into the deluge the quartet beat on with the peloton closing the gap to 1:05 with two-laps or 24-km to go. Voeckler and Vervaeke rode the other fugitives off their wheels on the Camillien-Houde, where Vervaeke sewed up the KOM, but the race came back together just before the final lap.

Tim Wellens wins the 2015 Grand Perix Cycliste de Montreal. (Image: Ivan Rupes)
Tim Wellens wins the 2015 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal. (Image: Ivan Rupes)

His twin Simon having been in the early breakaway, Adam Yates attacked the Camillien-Houde, drawing a strong counterattacking group. Yates found an ally in Wellens, one of the counterattackers, and the duo kept a gap of 23-seconds on the nearest chasers with 2.5-km to go.

As the chasers were closing tight, Yates looked to have made the definitive move but ran out of legs as the Belgian slipped around him with 30-metres to go. 2011 winner and last edition’s runner-up, Rui Costa (Portugal/Lampre) placed third. It was Wellen’s second GrandTour victory of the season, having won the Eneco Tour in mid-August.

Michael Woods of Team Canada was top Canadian in 23rd.

Many of the riders in the two Canadian Grand Prix races will now prepare for the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, September 20-27. Two riders who did well in both Grand Prix contests were Philippe Gilbert (7th in Québec, 9th in Montréal) and Tom-Jelte Slagter (4th and 10th), who was also 3rd in the Tour of Alberta.

The GPCM podium. (Image: Ivan Rupes)
The GPCM podium. (Image: Ivan Rupes)


2015 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
1) Tim Wellens (Belgium/Lotto-Soudal) 5:20:01
2) Adam Yates (Great Britain/Orica-GreenEdge) s.t.
3) Rui Costa (Portugal/Lampre) +0:02
23) Michael Woods (Canada/Team Canada) +0:15