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Peter Sagan earns 100th career win by repeating as GP Cycliste de Québec champ

Deja vu for Van Avermaet as Sagan beats him for the second consecutive year

September 8, 2017
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Peter Sagan won Friday’s eighth edition of the WorldTour Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, his second consecutive title. In doing so the double World Champion earned his 100th career win on Canadian soil.


Previous GP Cycliste de Québec winners
2016 Peter Sagan
2015 Rigoberto Uran
2014 Simon Gerrans
2013 Robert Gesink
2012 Simon Gerrans
2011 Philippe Gilbert
2010 Thomas Voeckler

The Course

The riders had sixteen laps of a 12.6-km to race. There was a lot of climbing in the last 3.6-km of each lap. First came the Cote de Montagne, 300-metres at 10% before the 420-metre, 9% Cote de la Potasse and then finally the milder 1.2-km climb to the Grand Allée, where a big attack always launches at its foot. Last year Peter Sagan beat Greg van Avermaet for the title.
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Canadians

Both GP’s will have a large Canadian contingent, with Team Canada featuring Direct Energie’s Ryan Anderson and Antoine Duchesne and Rally’s Matteo Dal-cin, along with two Canucks on Israel Cycling Academy, Ben Perry and Guillaume Boivin. Boivin was top Canadian last year at 17th.


The Breakaway

It was Team Canada’s Pier-andré Coté, usually part of Silber, who was in the four-man breakaway that was out front most of the race. After five laps the gap was 10:00. Bahrain-Merida seemed intent on bringing them back.


Then Bora-Hansgrohe grabbed the reins. BMC helped out too.


With almost five laps left to race, Coté lost contact with the escape, still 7:00 ahead of the peloton.


However, the pack had the situation under control and soon chopped the gap considerably.


Only Belgians Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto-Soudal) and Baptiste Planckaert (Katusha) remained out front with three laps to go. Sky mobbed the front with just over two-laps remaining. With last-man-standing Planckaert within touching distance FDJ’s Olivier Le Gac made the first attack.

The Finale

The race finally came together on the Potasse with 16-km to go. Lotto-Soudal’s Sean De Bie and Movistar’s Jasha Sütterlin both made speculative digs heading into the bell lap. Orica-Scott joined in on the positioning game at the front on the Cote de Montagne.

Orica’s Roman Kreuziger pried open a gap on the Potasse with 2.5-km remaning, but he couldn’t stay clear. It would come down to the Grand Allée once again.

Quick Step’s Peter Vakoc and Rigoberto Uran both made thrusts on the final climb, but it was Sagan who ultimately muscled his way to the front and, for the second consecutive year, beat Van Avermaet. Michael Matthews (Australia/Sunweb), runner-up to Uran in the 2015 edition, placed third. Vakoc stayed in the picture and earned seventh.

Boivin again was top Canadian at 29th.

The second race of the Laurentian Classics is Sunday in Montreal.

2017 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
1) Peter Sagan (Slovakia/Bora-Hansgrohe) 5:00:31
2) Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium/BMC) s.t.
3) Michael Matthews (Australia/Sunweb) s.t.
29) Guillaume Boivin (Canada/Israel Cycling Academy) s.t.