Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

Québec City, 189.0km/117mi

By Cathy Mehl

The Pro-Tour came to North America for the first time on Friday and the racing action lived up to the pre-race anticipation as a quality field took to a technically demanding circuit with more than a few hairpin turns, sweeping downhills and leg-breaking climbs.   Riding at times through the narrow streets of the walled city of Old Québec, fifteen times around the course proved to be the undoing of more than a few riders, but Team RadioShack finished three-strong  with Team riders Haimar Zubeldia, Chris Horner and Tiago Machado all making the front group behind winner Thomas Voeckler (Bbox). The French rider attacked uphill with less than one kilometer to go and had the legs to hold his gap across the finish line with plenty of time to blow a few kisses to an appreciative crowd.  Second place went to Team Sky’s Edvald Boasson-Hagen and third to Robert Gesink of Rabobank.    Team RadioShack’s best-placed rider was Zubeldia in 11th, with Horner a few slots behind for 17th.  Machado was part of the next group a few seconds later.

Large, enthusiastic crowds lined the parcours on Friday’s circuit as the riders from 22 teams made their way fifteen times around the 12.6km/7.8mi loop.  Passing historical landmarks along the thankfully dry course, an original breakaway of 13 riders included The Shack’s Yaroslav Popovych and Markel Irizar, along with Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick-Step), Alfredo Balloni (Lampre) and Saxo Bank’s Jakob Fuglsang. The group worked hard to stay away and held a maximum gap of almost four minutes.  For the first half of the race the peloton was mostly disinterested in giving chase, but Team Sky, BMC and HTC-Columbia finally put men on the front of the main field to begin the difficult process of bringing back the escapees. 

With 6 laps to go the front group broke in half but Irizar stayed with a lead group that now numbered seven.   The laps ticked over and cooperation stayed high, but motivation from the chasing main field was just as strong and the gap consistently fell each lap.  With 3 to go it was only 1:20 to the main field but everyone was starting to feel the effects of the brutal laps and many riders abandoned along the way.  Home country favorite Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin) led for most of the final lap, joined by Fabian Wegmann (Milram), Gesink, Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank) but a big push from the Team RadioShack riders brought the group back together on the final hill just before the red kite.  Hesjedal faded as did Cunego and when Voeckler attacked he opened up a gap almost immediately, later admitting he was surprised he was in the lead. A tired look on his face as he crossed the line seemed to confirm that the finish came just in time for the French champion.

A rider crashed in front of Team rider Jani Brajkovic on wide roads just before the start of the final lap and brought the Slovenian rider down onto his left hip and shoulder.  Jani remounted and was able to ride back to the team hotel on his own power, and while suffering some pain, he was mostly disappointed in being taken down through no fault of his own on a day when he had good legs.  All Team riders look good to try again in Sunday's race.

On Saturday the team riders and staff move via train to Montréal to contest a second day of racing on a reportedly more difficult course.  The race will be 16 laps of a 12.1km loop for a total of 193.6km/120mi.

Beyond the Finish Line:  Today’s race went by Battlefield Park which consists of a number of attractions, the Plains of Abraham being the most important.  The Plains of Abraham were the site of a battle between two warring European factions, the French and English on September 13, 1759. Collections of large ordinances are on display throughout the Park as are monuments dedicated to the fallen.

Top Ten Results

1              Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom                                 

2              Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team                          

3              Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                                  

4              Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions                             

5              Miguel Minguez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                 

6              Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team                               

7              Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram                      

8              Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia                       

9              Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step                                 

10            Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini

Team RadioShack Results

11         Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) 0:00:01

17         Chris Horner (USA) 0:00:10

38         Tiago Machado (Por)  0:00:29

85         Levi Leipheimer (USA) 0:02:46

90         Markel Irizar (Spa)  0:03:40

DNF      Yaroslav Popovych ((Ukr)

DNF      Sergio Paulinho (Por)

DNF      Jani Brajkovic (Sln)