Tactical game was very limited on Sunday in the second round of the Canadian Classics, the Grand Prix de Montréal. In a race made extremely tiring by Tadej Pogacar’s teammates, the selection unfolded quite naturally over the laps, so much so that only about twenty riders were left in the final forty kilometres. Valentin Madouas, still up there until that moment, was unable to follow the decisive moves for victory, but fought bravely to cross the line in fifteenth position, battling for the top-10.
It took only a few minutes for Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates to make their intentions clear on Sunday in Montreal. Barely a breakaway of seven riders had formed, on the first of the seventeen climbs of the Camilien-Houde hill (1.8 km at 7.3%), the world champion’s teammates took the lead and immediately set a fast pace, leaving very little margin for the fugitives. After six laps, a counterattack including Lewis Askey was able to join the leading group, but the chase didn’t slow down within the peloton. Shortly after the halfway point, the pace even accelerated, further exhausting the riders’ legs, and already caused significant damage to a suffocating pack. “It’s undoubtedly one of the hardest races of my career,” said Valentin Madouas. “It was extremely difficult, with a furious pace from start to finish. I don’t think we’ve ever done anything like that.” “It was a very tough day, but one we expected,” added Thierry Bricaud. “We were almost certain that UAE would quickly make the race hard, and that’s what happened. There was no surprise.”
“Valentin deserved a better reward,” Thierry Bricaud
Therefore, while Tadej Pogacar’s teammates took turns in order to push the pace higher and higher, the peloton was already reduced to just under forty riders with five laps to go, and only Valentin Madouas was still there for Groupama-FDJ. Two laps later, there were only about twenty of them left when Brandon McNulty launched the first attack, soon followed by Quinn Simmons and then his teammate Tadej Pogacar. Valentin Madouas tried to respond on the Camilien-Houde climb but didn’t manage to jump across. He then found himself in a chasing group where almost no teams had numbers, and everyone was eager to secure the best possible result behind the leading men. “I wasn’t super confident for the sprint finish, so I tried to anticipate several times,” explained Valentin. “Unfortunately, I was caught each time. It was really a race of attrition and mental strength.” At the front, Brandon McNulty and Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line together. Three minutes later, a small group came fighting for ninth place.
Valentin Madouas then claimed fifteenth. “Between fifth and twentieth place, the riders had more or less the same level,” explained Thierry. “It was possible to do better, but the race’s circumstances decided. Valentin put in the effort, but things didn’t align for him to secure a nice result. He’s riding at a very, very good level, and I think he deserved a better reward for his Canadian weekend.” “I definitely came here to do better than fifteenth, but I have no regrets,” Valentin concluded. “I’m proud of myself. I gave everything I had today, and it was a close call for the top-10. That’s cycling anyway, and it will pay off at some point if I keep going to like this.”
