Although Wout van Aert didn’t take take the victory at Les Grands Prix Quebec et Montreal, it sounded like he had a great time riding in la belle province.
In Sunday WorldTour racing returned Montreal for the first time in three years. tTe 11th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal m made its way around Mont Royal Park and the racing was exciting as ever. In his last race as a pro, Canada ntoine Duchesne, rode all day in the break, ultimately taking the King of the Mountains prize.
In the end, it was Tadej Pogačar who would eat Wout Van Aert in a sprint out of a group of five for the win.
On Saturday, the Belgian went out for a 60 km ride to loosen up his legs for the big race, riding from downtown Montreal to the south shore and back. And it sounds like he had a great time.
“Gotta love riding in a big city when it has bike paths like Montreal, Canada,” van Aert posted on his Strava.
The Jumbo-Visma rider is not the first to praise Quebec’s largest city’s cycling infrastructure. Earlier this year, PeopleForBikes released its annual list of the best cities for cycling and Montreal was number one in the major cities category. Montreal was eighth overall, but first in major cities in the rankings. La belle ville would, ahead of Brooklyn at 63 and San Francisco at 61. Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante echoed the sentiment on Twitter.
“Montreal has been named the first major cycling city in North America in the annual ranking of People For Bikes,” she posted. “A city that makes room for cycling is a city where life is good!”
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