Julian Alaphilippe has won the GP de Cycliste Québec 2025. The 32-year-old Frenchman from Tudor Pro Cycling was the best after an entertaining finale. With one and a half kilometers to go, he dropped Pavel Sivakov and Alberto Bettiol, who finished second and third respectively. Alaphilippe succeeds Michael Matthews on the roll of honor; Matthews won last year's edition.
It took some getting used to: the GP de Québec had long stuck to its tried-and-true formula, but this year the organizers decided to partially overhaul the course. Not for sporting reasons, but due to roadworks in the city and to offer more space for spectators to witness the final phase up close.
Since this new lap is somewhat shorter than the familiar circuit, the organizers added an extra lap. As a result, the riders still covered 216 kilometers through the winding streets of the old capital, with a total of 2,610 meters of elevation.
The finish line this year was drawn on Avenue George-VI, after the climb of Montée Rue Saint-Louis (1 km at 3%), in the heart of the Plains of Abraham. Moreover, the Côte de la Montagne awaited just before the final kilometer. According to former pro cyclist Antoine Duchesne, now involved as an ambassador for the Canadian races, this route change was meant to pose a bigger challenge for the sprinters. “They will now have to sustain their effort over a longer period,” he said beforehand.
Small breakaway group
Early in the race, a quartet was willing to explore the revamped course. Polish rider Filip Maciejuk from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe attacked alongside Italian Luca Vergallito (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and locals Philippe Jacob and Félix Bouchard representing the national team. The squads of Arnaud De Lie and Julian Alaphilippe did not allow the quartet much of a gap. After two laps, Lotto and Tudor had already taken responsibility for the chase.
The opening laps gave the peloton and TV viewers a chance to get used to the renewed local circuit. While Tudor never let the break's lead exceed 7 minutes, what stood out especially in the first hours was the massive turnout of the public. In several places along the course, Canadian cycling fans packed the roads. They saw that the frontline quartet eventually gained a nice bonus. The maximum advantage was over six minutes.
Entertaining last two hours of racing
With just over 80 kilometers remaining, we saw the first attacks from the peloton. Among others, Belgian champion Tim Wellens was active. With six laps to go, a strong group of counterattackers stayed together, including Paul Lapeira, Xandro Meurisse, and Julian Alaphilippe. Visma | Lease a Bike had missed the move and then had to work hard in the chase. They quickly received support from EF Education-EasyPost, and thus the exciting finale was underway.
photo: Cor Vos
At just over 40 kilometers to go, the chasers were joined by some strong riders. Among them, Quinten Hermans, Alberto Bettiol, and Mattias Skjelmose caught up. The gaps kept shrinking in the final 20 kilometers, and then Tadej Pogacar joined the fray with just under 15 kilometers remaining. The world champion soon came to the front of the race, but the finale still proved not tough enough. Pogacar failed to drop the last rivals.
Alaphilippe surprises
The Slovenian smiled a few times and seemed to enjoy himself, but probably felt like a man with a toothache. Just before it looked like everything was coming back together, Julian Alaphilippe slipped away quietly. Bettiol noticed and jumped onto his wheel. Pavel Sivakov also saw the danger. The three of them rode away bit by bit. On the last climb, one and a half kilometers from the finish, the former two-time world champion surged hard, dropping his two breakaway companions and ultimately taking the victory.
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 05:04:32 | |
| 2 | + 02 | |
| 3 | + 04 | |
| 4 | + 14 | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | + 16 | |
| 8 | + 17 | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
