(Quebec) Tadej Pogačar arrived in Quebec City a few hours behind the other cyclists on Tuesday evening. The fault was a poorly completed electronic travel authorization, he blamed himself, although a government website maintenance outage didn’t help either.
The winner of the Tour de France arrived in Quebec without his suitcase. Did he even have his racing shoes? “Of course, I’m a professional!” smiled the Slovenian during the traditional media meeting of the headliners of the Quebec and Montreal Grand Prix Cyclistes on Wednesday afternoon.
During his extended stopover at Charles de Gaulle airport, Pogačar suggested a visit to Disneyland Paris, a trivial matter on the TGV. Apparently, the PR man for his UAE Team Emirates team did not consider his plan very opportune.
“Luke McGuire wasn’t exactly happy with the idea of getting on a train and spending three hours on a children’s playground,” joked the world’s best runner, turning to the Irishman who was (relaxedly) keeping the time for the press scrum.
“I really like the city, the nature, the culture,” Pogačar said of his second stay in Quebec after the one in 2022.
“It’s really nice to have these two races here. It’s a totally different feeling to race in Europe. I would say it’s more relaxed, there’s less pressure. Everyone is in the same hotel. It’s a different atmosphere, but a good atmosphere. It’s also nice to have good weather, sunny, not too hot. I really like that.”
Flattery to please the local gallery? The statement seemed sincere, but not as sincere as that of a funny journalist who, in all candor, pointed out to him how great he looked on his bike in his Instagram post released this morning. “Thanks, that’s flattering,” simply replied the man with 21 victories this year.
Quebec, a cycling city, according to Pogi
Earlier in the day, Pogačar completed the traditional training loop on Île d’Orléans with his teammates. What he saw on his way to Félix Leclerc’s homeland delighted him.
“I’ve only been here once, two years ago, and we did the same ride. And I have to say it was more enjoyable to ride today. They’re more focused [à concevoir] a cycling-friendly environment on the roads and I think it’s really good. We’ve seen a lot of cyclists, a lot of commuters. I love seeing people on bikes.”
Pogi even swore that motorists were “friendlier”. “And there are all these cycle paths, you can see that they are working on that. The infrastructure is becoming more and more suitable for cyclists.” This statement will not harm the restoration of the image of a city that has long suffered from a radio campaign aimed at scaring a cyclist by honking.
Pogačar is clearly not here to become a promoter of cycling tourism in Canada. After his impressive Tour de France-Giro double, unseen since 1998, can the 25-year-old Slovenian pull off a double in Quebec and Montreal, like Australians Simon Gerrans in 2014 and Michael Matthews in 2018?
“We’ll see,” said the winner on Mount Royal in 2022. “There are a lot of big names who can win in Quebec City. For me, it’s the toughest event to get a good result. But yes, I’m here to have a good race and try to win both if I can. I’m going to give it my best shot.”
Rivals at will
Twenty-fourth on the Grande Allée in 2022, Pogačar didn’t have to look far in the hotel room to find worthy rivals. Right off the bat, he named Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny), last year’s winner “who can really be the favourite in the event of a sprint finish”, and Matthews (Jayco AlUla), on the podium in six of his last seven starts in Quebec and “in very good shape at the moment” (7e at the Plouay classic).
“The sprint is difficult,” said Pogačar, who has not raced since the Tour in July. “If you make just one small mistake on the last lap, you can pay the consequences in the sprint.”
PHOTO YVES PERRET, PROVIDED BY THE GRANDS PRIX CYCLISTES DE QUÉBEC AND MONTRÉAL
Tadej Pogacar
Biniam Girmay, another serious candidate, is fully aware of this, having ranked 38the last year after a brilliant third place in his first attempt a year earlier.
“I now know the course quite well and I know what I have to do,” assured the Eritrean from Intermarché-Wanty, revelation of the last Tour with three stages and the green jersey for best sprinter.
“I also know how complicated the race is. Last year I was good, but if you are not well positioned [dans le final]you’re already cooked. So I have to improve on that stuff and put myself in the best position possible to get a good result.”
Why not Julian Alaphilippe? The double world champion (2020 and 2021) finished in the top 10 in his last two visits to Old Quebec. Winner of a stage in his first resolutely offensive Giro (eight breakaways!), he recently finished second in a stage at the Tour of Britain, beaten in a sprint by Stephen Williams, the British jewel of Israel-Premier Tech (IPT), also present in Quebec.
“I’m motivated, the desire is there,” assured the Frenchman leaving the Belgians of Soudal Quick-Step for the Swiss of Tudor. “With races this tough, it’s the legs that decide. I’m going to give it my all in any case, that’s for sure.”
Gee expects ‘shock to the system’
Speaking of legs, Derek Gee (IPT) is curious to see how his will respond after the Paris Olympics where he was not at his best. The Canadian dug deep to finish his first Tour in ninth place in the general classification. He resumed training in Andorra before continuing last week in the Ottawa region, his hometown.
“It’s hard to know what your legs are like without competing. We’ll see in Quebec, which will be a bit of a shock to the system. It’s already a circuit that’s a bit too much of a leg-breaker (punchy) for me. Even in my best shape, I would be sore in Quebec! We’ll see how it goes and let’s hope it will also be a good warm-up for Sunday in Montreal.”
Gee should then set to work for his compatriot Michael Woods, the recent stage winner at the Vuelta who is saving himself for Camillien-Houde.