Tadej returned successfully to racing in Canada nearly two months after winning the Tour de France. At the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec he attacked in the finale, but then waited for the sprint, where he finished 7th. Michael Matthews (Jayco Alula) was fastest.
Two days latter the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal followed and Tadej crowned the exceptional work of his UAE Team Emirates with another victory. On the 209.1-kilometer course with a total of 4,573 vertical meters, he attacked with 23.3 kilometers to go and rode solo to the finish. He celebrated his 22nd victory of the year and 85th career victory in grand style, with Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), who chased after Tadej on his own, and Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick Step), who won the sprint of the chasing group, joining him on the podium.
“The team did an excellent job, we executed everything exactly as we wanted. We raced exceptionally, chapeau to my teammates, without them this plan would not have been executed so perfectly. Fortunately, I also had good legs to pull it off at the end. The plan was to attack on the climb in the penultimate lap and we executed it very well. I am very happy with this victory, we earned it together, as a team,” Tadej said after his second win in Montreal.
His first was celebrated two years ago when he beat Wout van Aert in a sprint. That time there was one more lap through the streets of Montreal, but this year’s race was no easier. “It was extremely hot and challenging. Two years ago, we raced one more lap, but the distance changes nothing. The race was extremely tough, the course was very beautiful, the weather too, although it was a bit too hot. I cannot complain,” Tadej said at the end of his second Canadian tour.
Next is the highlight of the season’s final part, the World Championship in Zürich. “This has given me a motivational boost and even more confidence for what awaits me in two weeks. I can’t wait for Zürich, we’re going home, where we will do the final training. We will be ready,” Tadej is optimistic before heading to Switzerland, where he will chase his first rainbow jersey in the road race on September 29th.