This article was first published in Rouleur Issue 139
Cycling is alive in North America. On this sunny Sunday afternoon in Montréal, the largest city in Canada’s Québec province, you can feel it. The noise builds in a crescendo from crowds lining every corner of the roads that the WorldTour peloton speeds down. Men and women are dressed in jerseys of their favourite riders, they hold flags, they write signs. Children – and grown adults – squeal with glee at the very sight of their heroes flashing by. Once in a while, as the laps tick down, a used water bottle is thrown in the direction of an excited gaggle of fans and there’s a scramble and a whoop from the lucky person who grabs it. The commentator’s voice booms through the speaker. Beer is drunk and the scent of sizzling pizza wafts up into the blue sky. Energy fizzes between bikes and people.
In the race, UAE Team Emirates-XRG are lined up in formation at the front of a peloton that, under the furious speed they are setting, has been whittled down to just 30 riders. It’s a battle of attrition on a hilly, tough, city-centre circuit that is perfectly suited to Tadej Pogačar, the best cyclist in the world right now. Free of charge, those watching have front row seats to see every bead of sweat and every grimace from cyclists who are normally only alive behind television screens. Some may argue that this is a model for how all bike races should be: a spectacle in front of the people, designed solely for the people.
In the end, the Slovenian superstar does what he is expected to do and attacks with two laps remaining. It is the final blow for those who were still hanging on to his rear wheel and the only man who can eventually follow Pogačar is his team-mate, Brandon McNulty. When the chequered flag is in sight and the gruelling 209 kilometres reach their ultimate conclusion, the world champion decides to give the victory to the American, who has loyally supported him to Tour de France victories. It’s a beautiful ending to a race that was theatre, directed by the sport’s greatest showman, set in Canada’s La Belle Ville.
Montréal is no stranger to spectacles like the one I witnessed at the 2025 edition of GP Montréal. For 15 years, GP Québec and Montréal have formed crucial parts of the men’s WorldTour calendar, their September dates making them the ideal preparation for the World Championships and ensuring they attract an all-star field each year.
The…