UAE Team Emirates duo Tadej Pogačar and Brandon McNulty rode side-by-side on Avenue du Parc with the US rider crossing the line for the official victory Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.
Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) trailed just over a minute later for solo third, with a third American, Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) pushing ahead of UAE’s Adam Yates for fourth place.
On the long flat stretch of road to the finish, Pogačar and McNulty exchanged words and smiles, with the World Champion waving McNulty ahead on the final 25 metres, no rush of high speed needed as the duo had built a large margin over chasers on the final two of 17 laps.
The first breakaway of six riders later expanded to 16 riders but were never allowed a leash of more than 1:50. The peloton was decimated by a persistently pressing pace set by UAE Team Emirates, as the last remnants of the breakaway faded with 69km to go and dozens of riders dropped off the back and became spectators along the finish area alongside Parc du Mont-Royal.
Pogačar launched a first brutal attack with four Montréal circuits to go, to make it a group of four that included teammate McNulty, Lidl-Trek’s Quinn Simmons and Intermarché-Wanty’s Louis Barré. Four went down to two for the last two laps as UAE Team Emirates controlled the race the rest of the way.
Both UAE riders last won GC titles at stage races, McNulty taking the title at Tour de Pologne in August and Pogačar winning his fourth Tour de France in July. Both race two days ago at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, both outside the top 25.
How it unfolded
The 209.1-kilometre race would be a test of attrition with 17 laps of a 12.3km course, which was updated for 2025, a preview for the UCI Road World Championships next September.
Each clockwise lap included 269 metres of elevation across three short climbs, a total of 4,573 metres of climbing. The Côte Camillien-Houde (1.8km at 8%) and Côte de la Polytechnique (780m at 6%, including a 200m portion of 11%) appeared on the opening 6.5km of the circuit, followed by Pagnuelo (534 metres at 7.5%). The final ascent left just under three kilometres to the finish line.
There was a split in the peloton after the opening climb with sunshine spilling down on proceedings, huge crowds lining the course.
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