Preview GP Quebec 2025 | Renewed course in favor of Pogacar or for riders like van Aert and De Lie?

With Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert, the organizers of the Canadian races once again have two absolute champions at the start, but these gentlemen will not be given any gifts. The riders who have competed in recent years will also be at the start, including Michael Matthews (Jayco AUla), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), and Biniam Girmay of Intermarché-Wanty.

That's also the mix of riders we usually get here: punchers, strong sprinters, but once in a while also a stage racer. Robert Gesink (2013) and Rigoberto Urán (2015) have won this race in the beautiful city of Quebec, but there are also years when riders like Matthews and Peter Sagan dominated. We expect that kind of magic again in 2025.

2024 Michael Matthews
2023 Arnaud De Lie
2022 Benoit Cosnefroy
2021 Canceled
2020 Canceled
2019 Michael Matthews
2018 Michael Matthews
2017 Peter Sagan
2016 Peter Sagan
2015 Rigoberto Urán

The Canadian race is 216 kilometers long in total, consisting of a single city circuit that must be completed 18 times. That lap is 12 kilometers long and has 145 meters of elevation gain, which means that the quick calculators among us arrive at a total elevation gain of 2610 meters. That is about 400 fewer than last year, which is due to a change in the course.

We started and finished on the Grande Allée, but now it will be on the Montée Rue Saint-Louis (1 kilometer at 3 percent). This follows directly on from the Cote de la Montagne, which, at 600 meters at 9 percent, is the toughest obstacle in the lap. All in all, a tougher finish to a less demanding lap overall.

In previous years, there was an additional loop through the old city center, featuring a few more twists and turns. Traditionally, there was then enough time on Boulevard Champlain, parallel to the St. Lawrence River, to get things back on track for the teams that wanted to take control. Nothing has changed in that regard.

Weather
The weather in Canada is suitable for racing. The riders will face temperatures of around 18 degrees Celsius, which is fine. No wind or precipitation is expected.

Times
Start: 11 AM local time
Finish: 4:08 PM local time

It is anyone's guess how the course adjustment will affect the outcome of the GP Quebec, but on paper, it seems to favor the explosive climbers a little more. With Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG), the best rider in that category is present. The Slovenian is making his comeback in Canada after the Tour de France.

He will be doing so with a very strong team, consisting of Adam Yates, Pavel Sivakov, Brandon McNulty, Nils Politt, Tim Wellens, and Jhonatan Narváez. With a bit of imagination, the latter two could also win, but everything seems to be geared towards Pogacar doing his thing in Quebec. A race that, unlike Montreal, where he has already won twice, he does not yet have on his list of achievements.

In recent years, the more sprinter types knew precisely what to do on this circuit, but now there is suddenly the steeper Cote de la Montagne in the final phase. For Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech), Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), it will therefore be essential to keep an eye on Pogacar and then have enough left in the tank for the final.

In addition to Van Aert, Visma | Lease a Bike can count on Tiesj Benoot, who finished fourth last year. The Belgian, along with riders such as Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), and Alberto Bettiol (XDS-Astana), are among the riders who can either attack or have to catch up.

If Pogacar and his team make it a tough race, climbers such as Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Tobias Halland Johannesen (Uno-X), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), and Mattias Skjelmose of Lidl-Trek, who crashed in the Maryland Classic last Saturday, may emerge even stronger.

As always, there are also plenty of punchy riders at the start of this race. Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Roger Adria (Red Bull), Quinten Hermans, Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Fred Wright, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), Dorian Godon, Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R), for example.

Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana), Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL), Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), Rileh Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto), and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) are all potential top ten contenders. Still, of course, there are only ten spots available at the front. So, let's get ready to race!

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
Outsiders: Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech), Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
Longshots: Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Emirates-XRG), Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike), Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Tobias Halland Johannesen (Uno-X) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor)

If you want to watch the GP Quebec, tune in to Eurosport and HBO Max. They will be broadcasting online from 11:00 AM local time, while Eurosport 1 will show it on TV from noon.