Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal 2024: Everything you need to know about the Canadian classic
Thomas Huber
· 12.09.2024
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal: The most important facts in brief
- Date: Sunday, 15 September 2024
- Distance: 209.1 kilometres
- Start & finish location: Montreal
- First edition: 2010 (12th edition)
- Last year's winner: Adam Yates
- Record winner: Greg Van Avermaet (twice)
- Organiser: Grands Prix Cyclistes de Quebec et de Montreal
Together with its sister race through Quebec, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal forms the "Laurentian Classics". The Grand Prix de Quebec takes place two days before the race through Montreal. The two one-day races are among the youngest competitions in the UCI World Tour. They have existed since 2010 and have been part of cycling's top league since 2011. The record winner in Montreal is the Belgian Greg Van Avermaet, who has already won the race twice. The feat of winning the two sister races in Quebec and Montreal in the same year has so far been achieved by two riders: Simon Gerrans in 2014 and Michael Matthews in 2018.
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal 2024: The route
Little has changed on the route compared to last year. The circuit on which the race is held has remained the same. Only the number of laps has changed. Instead of 18 laps in the previous year, the 2024 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal will be 17 laps. The course leads through the Parc du Mont Royal, where the university of the city of 1.7 million inhabitants is also located. The circuit is 12.3 kilometres long, meaning that instead of 221.4 kilometres last year, 209.1 kilometres will now be completed. The riders will also have to conquer a total of over 4,500 metres in altitude.
Overall, the circuit through Montreal has significantly more metres of elevation gain than the circuit through Quebec. This is due to the Cote Camillien-Houde, which is located shortly after the start of the circuit. It stretches over 1.8 kilometres and has an average gradient of 8 percent. After that, the terrain of the circuit is mostly sloping, but there are always some short, steep ramps. For example, the Cote de Polytechnique, which has gradients of up to 11 per cent, is in the middle of the course. This is followed by the short Pagnuelo climb before the finish on a finishing straight with a 4 per cent gradient. The long, slightly uphill finishing straight is similar to that of the Grand Prix in Quebec.
The key points
In the last two editions, a rider from a breakaway group triumphed just a few kilometres before the finish. The long and steep climb up the Cote de Camillien-Hourde and the Cote de Ploytechnique in particular, which stretches over 780 metres and has an average gradient of 6 per cent, could also decide the race at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal 2024. The two climbs on the final lap could ensure that a small group or even a soloist can make a decisive breakaway.
The favourites
With over 4,500 metres of climbing, the terrain is extremely demanding. If you want to compete for victory in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, you not only need typical classic skills, but also endurance on the sometimes long climbs. A climber who can cope with the pace could therefore be at the front of the one-day race through Montreal. It is no coincidence that Tadej Pogacar and Adam Yates, who have also played a major role in the overall standings of the Tour de France in recent years, won the last two editions.
The schedule
- Start: 15 September 2024, 16:45 (10:45 local time)
- Arrival at destination: 15 September 2024, approx. 21:45 (15:45 local time)
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal 2024: TV broadcast and live stream
The one-day Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal 2024 will be broadcast both on television and via live stream. The TV channel Eurosport 1 will broadcast the final of the race live and free-to-air from 18:15 to 22:45. The paid streaming service Discovery Plus will broadcast the classic match live from 16:00 to 22:00.
All winners of the race
- 2023: Adam Yates
- 2022: Tadej Pogacar
- 2021: not carried out
- 2020: not carried out
- 2019: Grev Van Avermaet
- 2018: Michael Matthews
- 2017: Diego Ulissi
- 2016: Greg Van Avermaet
- 2015: Tim Wellens
- 2014: Simon Gerrans
- 2013: Peter Sagan
- 2012: Lars Petter Nordhaug
- 2011: Rui Costa
- 2010: Robert Gesink
