British cyclist wins Montreal Grand Prix race
Posted September 10, 2023 6:58 pm.
Last Updated September 10, 2023 7:08 pm.
A hard, final push by Adam Yates rewarded the British cyclist with a victory Sunday in the Montreal Grand Prix.
The UAE Team Emirates’ rider fought off a challenge by Ineos Grenadiers’ Pavel Sivakov over the final 300 metres to take the 221-kilometre race, and also earn the top climber award.
Montreal’s race started in pouring rain and offered a combined 5,000 metres in elevation changes for the 159 international riders.
“There’s a lot of metres climbing and, in the end, it’s almost six hours so it’s a super-taxing day,” Yates said after the race.
“The guys did a good job to look after me, and then we started to wind up with three or four laps left to go. The guys did an amazing job to set the pace real high.
“I’m not super explosive but I can do this sort of really heavy dual pace, so we knew if we could do this we’d have a better chance. In the last lap, I just went full gas.”
Montreal cycling grand prix Sept. 10, 2023. (Alan Sukonnik, CityNews)
Israel-Premier Tech’s Michael Woods from Ottawa was the top Canadian in 15th. The early downpour didn’t help his day.
“It certainly makes the race more dangerous, more stressful,” Woods said before the start.
Montreal is the host city of the 2026 world cycling championships.
Sunday’s race in Montreal and Friday’s 201k race in Quebec City, won by 21-year-old Belgian Arnaud De Lie, were the only North American legs of the UCI’s World Tour.
