Gallery: The Canadians were popular at the start of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec
The Olympic gold medallist, world champion and Canada's entire men's Olympic road race team took the start of the seventh edition of North America's only WorldTour races
There was Olympic gold on the start line
Christian Meier's Scott Foil
Hugo Houle is back racing close to home
Six riders representing Silber Pro Cycling are members of Team Canada at the Canadian WorldTour races 2016
Matteo Dal-Cin and Canadian champion Bruno Langlois were dialled for the race during the team presentation
Guillaume Boivin needed stitches in his knee following a crash in training. They've been removed, so Boivin is ready to race.
The second Quebecois rider to finish the Tour de France, Antoine Duchesne
Tour de France stage winner Jarlinson Pantano having a chat with fans
One of these things is not like the other
Duchesne and gold medallist Greg Van Avermaet chatting at the start
Christian Meier and Hugo Houle were in conversation as last year's winner Rigoberto Uran looked on
Ryder Hesjedal was a popular man at the start, attracting world champion Peter Sagan to the Canadian's side for a laugh
The seventh edition of the double header of WorldTour Canadian one-day races kicked off on Friday afternoon with the 201-km Grand Prix Cyclistes de Quebec. The race got underway under sunny skies and a comfortable 20 C. Two Canadians on the start line were making their final appearances at Canadian races. Ryder Hesjedal (Trek-Segrafedo) and Christian Meier (Orica-BikeExchange) will both be hanging up their bikes at the end of the season.
The star list was strong with world champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), Olympic gold medallist Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and a number of riders who had success at the 2016 Tour de France. Romain Bardet finished third overall at the Tour, Adam Yates was the best young rider, Michael Matthews (Orica-BikeExchange) took a stage win and Jarlinson Pantano (IAM) won a stage and was a consistent presence in the breakaways. The three Canadians who raced the Olympic road race were present in Antoine Duchesne who became the second Quebecois rider to finish the Tour de France this year, Hugo Houle—who also raced the Olympic time trial—and Michael Woods.
Stay tuned for more coverage of the Canadian WorldTour races throughout the weekend.
