The Frenchman made a fabulous solo effort in the final to win the Quebec classic.
The big number of Benoît Cosnefroy. Mined by the galleys this season, the Norman offered himself a prestigious victory by winning the Grand Prix de Québec alone. A real feat for the rider from the AG2R-Citroën formation, who pulled himself out of the peloton alone… less than two kilometers from the finish.
«It was premeditated that I attack like that, blew the person concerned at the microphone of the organizers. The last kilometer was a great pain but I took advantage in the last 50 meters. I hardly believed it but I told myself that it was possible when I was alone.This is his second victory on the World Tour circuit, a year after his victory at the Bretagne Classic ahead of Julian Alaphilippe.
Behind him, Michael Matthews (BikeExchange), outgoing double winner, settled the sprint of the peloton ahead of Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), victim of his poor placement in the end of the race , 201.6 km long and 16 circuit laps covered at a frantic pace.
“Among the best in the international peloton”
«I’m glad he’s got his hands up because with six second places this season, he only needed to win. It was great Benoît today“, greeted his boss Vincent Lavenu, quoted by AFP. “By resisting against the best runners in the world in the last kilometers, he achieved a high sporting achievement, he added. Very few had managed to do so before on this Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. This performance places him among the strongest of the international peloton.»
Cosnefroy is the second Frenchman to win the Quebec classic after Thomas Voeckler (2010), the national coach, who had to appreciate the form of the French puncher two weeks before the Worlds in Wollogong (Australia) on September 25. . Accustomed to the selection, the Frenchman was however rather reluctant to make the trip to Oceania, where the presence of the double world champion Alaphilippe remains uncertain. Before that, Cosnefroy will aim for the double on the Montreal GP on Sunday, which is also returning to the calendar after two editions canceled due to the pandemic.
