VeloHuman

Tag: Quebec

  • Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec 2014 Preview

    Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec 2014 Preview

    Veilleux

    While the Vuelta nears its conclusion in Spain, the WorldTour is also making its yearly visit to North America, where a pair of one-day races await. First up is the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec! 199.1 kilometers in total, the GP Quebec is a circuit race consisting of 11 laps that weave through the center of the city. As a top-level race and an important part of the Worlds buildup for many riders, it usually draws a very impressive group of participants (with those who focus on the hilly classics making up much of the roster) even with a Grand Tour taking place at the same time. This year is no exception!

    VH will be at the event in-person, so stay tuned here and on Twitter (@VeloHuman) for plenty of exciting coverage (previews, interviews, and post-race analysis) of the GP Quebec and the GP Montreal.

    The Route

    The profile of the GP Quebec always makes for a very interesting race. None of the uphill challenges on the menu seem particularly difficult at first glance, but their location on the route guarantees that they will play a major role in determining the day’s winner, either providing a launching pad for late attacks or at least whittling down the pack on the way to a reduced uphill sprint.

    GP Quebec Profile Crop

    The race starts (and finishes) in Old Quebec. The first 6.5 kilometers of the circuit are mostly flat as the road heads away from the city center, but then things change direction and there is a very fast descent down towards the water. As the road evens out, the pack will start heading back towards Old Quebec on the relatively flat Boulevard Champlain. Just after kilometer 14 of the circuit, things suddenly become difficult. The Côte de la Montaigne is only 375 meters in length, but at a 10% average grade, with almost half the climb at a whopping 13%, it will put plenty of pressure on the less uphill-oriented riders in the peloton. A fast descent follows, and then, as the route snakes through Quebec’s urban center, ultimately winding back towards the finish, the road kicks up in a series of climbs. The Côte de la Potasse is only 420 meters long, but the average gradient comes in at 9%. It is followed by a brief dip in the road and then another short, steep test, the Montée de la Fabrique, less than 200 meters in length but at 7%. Almost immediately after comes the long uphill drag to the line, the Montée du Fort climb, 1 kilometer at an average of 4%.

    By themselves, the late climbs may not look like much, but in rapid succession and coming at the end of the race, they will bring the uphill chargers to the fore. A technical urban circuit, with a few steep downhills to boot, will provide even more inspiration for the aggressive riders to attempt to escape from the pack as the day nears its conclusion.

    The Contenders

    The parcours makes for a very open race, where a wide spectrum of riders, including climbing powerhouses and even sprinters, will have an opportunity to pick up a WorldTour-level victory at the end of a hilly (but not too hilly) day. The 2013 edition was a perfect illustration of this: Robert Gesink, not partcularly known for his one-day race performances, outgunned would-be World Champion Rui Costa and even Peter Sagan in an uphill sprint.

    Gesink himself isn’t here, but the 2014 startlist, packed with hilly classics specialists, GC-style climbers, and a few of the peloton’s more versatile quick men, should set up another unpredictable race, as everyone will fight to survive the repeated uphill tests and then either launch a late move or hold out for a group finish on the Grande-Allée. A fair bit of punch and capable climbing legs will be necessities for anyone hoping to succeed in this race.

    Orica-GreenEdge, loaded with talented riders for the hilly profiles, probably couldn’t draw up a race much more suited to them than the GP Quebec or its sister race in Montreal. They bring a powerful squad to Canada to contest both. Simon Gerrans won this race in 2012, and with his skillset, he’ll be among the most dangerous riders on this parcours. The two-time Monument winner is strong enough to escape from the pack on a tough profile if he sees an opportunity, and he is deadly in an uphill sprint. With a World Championship course that suits him just around the corner, he showed excellent form in the recent Vattenfall Cyclassics, sprinting to 3rd ahead of some very impressive names, and this race fits him even more perfectly. OGE will also have Michael Albasini, Daryl Impey (fresh off a Tour of Alberta win), Pieter Weening, and Jens Keukeleire as powerful cards to play. At least one member of this impressive team should feature prominently in the finale.

    BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet was 2nd in the 2012 edition of the GP Quebec, and 3rd in last year’s race. The Canadian GPs are a major target of his, and an urban circuit with the ups and downs and twists and turns to inspire late attacks is perfect for the aggressive Belgian. He showed great form in an uphill burst to a stage victory in the recent Eneco Tour, and no matter how this race plays out, it’s hard to imagine that he won’t be involved at the finish once again. Tejay van Garderen may not have much of a resume in the one-day races, but the climbing specialist (who has looked more explosive than ever this year) will make for a powerful teammate.

    FDJ’s Arthur Vichot was runner-up to Robert Gesink in 2013, and just put in a top-notch display of form when he took 3rd overall in the GP Ouest France in Plouay. Vichot was very impressive in the hilly Paris-Nice in March, and he looks to be returning to a high level as the season nears its conclusion. He’s an explosive uphill charger who isn’t afraid to go solo, and he should be among the top contenders in the GP Quebec.

    World Champion Rui Costa has landed back-to-back top 5s in Quebec, and with his World Champs defense approaching, he’s highly motivated to put his mark on this race again. He’ll need a challenging race to put some of the faster finishers under pressure, but there are a number of true climbing talents on this startlist (including teammate Chris Horner) that could help. Costa has a knack for success here and the ability to strike out for glory alone or outgun a small group at the line.

    Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff is in attendance and probably has claim to the title of best sprinter on the startlist. Surviving the late uphill tests will not be easy for Kristoff, and the final drag doesn’t suit him that well, but he has continually delivered on very difficult profiles in 2014 and so he can’t be counted out with his elite finishing kick. Simon Spilak is a strong alternative.

    Gianni Meersman is one of the most versatile sprinters here, and he’s on strong form at the moment. He might have a chance at staying with the pack all the way to the line. If not, OPQS is loaded with other options. Zdenek Stybar has the power to make a late break for victory or to hold the wheel of anyone who does and the finishing kick to outmatch a group at the finish. Julian Alaphilippe is very strong right now and just delivered a very impressive ride in the GP Ouest France, and Jan Bakelants (who loves the hilly days) and Matteo Trentin (deadly in a reduced sprint) are even more potential protagonists for the team.

    Garmin-Sharp’s Tom-Jelte Slagter has finished in the Top 10 here on back-to-back occassions, and he’s had a career year. Form is a bit of a question mark, but he has the skills to thrive here if he’s in shape. Ramunas Navardauskas, Fabian Wegmann (an impressive 4th here in 2013), and sprinter Steele Von Hoff are other great options for the team. Europcar also has riders for multiple scenarios, with Bryan Coquard a potential contender in a sprint and Cyril Gautier and Yukiya Arashiro as options if the race is too selective for Coquard. Sky has their dangerous one-two punch of Geraint Thomas and Edvald Boasson Hagen, both of them capable of striking out for solo success or holding on for an uphill sprint. Giant-Shimano has an in-form Tom Dumoulin (who packs some underrated punch) and hilly classics specialist Simon Geschke (9th last year), and between them, a good result for the Dutch team seems likely. Lotto Belisol is stacked with talented riders for the parcours, with top-notch solo artist and very fast finisher Tony Gallopin in attendance and motivated, along with Jelle Vanendert and Tim Wellens, who could make things very interesting on the late climb, and strong one-day racer Jurgen Roelandts. Belkin’s Bauke Mollema is obviously an elite climber, but his great finishing kick might surprise some people; don’t rule him out even in a reduced sprint (he has a great chance to follow up Gesink’s unexpected victory with one of his own). Teammate Sep Vanmarcke may be known more for his cobbled classic prowess, but his punchy style and his ability to get over the small hills should translate well here.

    It’s hard to pick out one Astana rider as the most likely to land a good result in Quebec, but the team bring a serious array of talent to the race in Jakob Fuglsang, Enrico Gasparotto, Borut Bozic, Francesco Gavazzi, and Liewue Westra, and that impressive cast has among them the variety of skillsets to cover any scenario. Tinkoff-Saxo, with Michael Rogers and Matti Breschel, also has options for multiple outcomes. AG2R’s climber trio of Jean-Christophe Peraud, Christophe Riblon, and Romain Bardet should make this interesting, and don’t count out Hugo Houle either in his home country. Movistar’s Beñat Intxausti, JJ Rojas, and JJ Lobato, Cannondale’s Moreno Moreso, Marco Marcato, and Davide Formolo, and Trek’s Robert Kiserlovski and Frank Schleck are other talented riders who could be in the mix.

    VeloHuman Top 10 Favorites

    Winner: Simon Gerrans
    Podium: Greg Van Avermaet, Arthur Vichot
    Other Top Contenders: Rui Costa, Alexander Kristoff, Gianni Meersman, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Simon Geschke, Michael Albasini, Tony Gallopin

    Stay tuned for plenty more coverage of the GP Quebec and the GP Montreal, and be sure to follow @VeloHuman on Twitter for live commentary of both races.

    -Dane Cash

    Photo by Cephas.

  • VeloHuman Up-and-comer Q&A Series: AG2R La Mondiale’s Hugo Houle

    VeloHuman Up-and-comer Q&A Series: AG2R La Mondiale’s Hugo Houle

    Hugo Houle - Photo: Kramon

    In a new entry in the Up-and-comer Q&A Series, VeloHuman talked with 23-year-old Hugo Houle, a native of Sainte-Perpétue, Quebec. With the Tour of Alberta underway and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal around the corner, now is the perfect time to catch up with one of Canada’s fastest-rising young stars.

    In his second year with French team AG2R La Mondiale, Hugo Houle is an all-round talent who made a name for himself at a young age, winning Canada’s Under-23 road race and time trial championships and finishing 4th overall in the U23 World Championship road race. His big results garnered the attention of WorldTour team AG2R La Mondiale, where he signed at the end of 2012 and has been riding since, with a largely classics-oriented race calendar. He recently spoke to VeloHuman about his year so far and his expectations for the rest of the season.

    VH: Hugo, you joined AG2R La Mondiale last year after spending a few years with Pro Continental Squad Spidertech. What was it like at first making that jump from Pro Continental Team up to the WorldTour? How did that transition go compared to your expectations?

    HH: In the end, it was the folding of Spidertech that gave me shot to join AG2R La Mondiale, because at first I had two more years with Spidertech. They folded at the end of 2012, so I found a place at AG2R La Mondiale, and I’m going to ride for them until 2015; I still have one more year on my contract with them. It’s a big step, because when you join a WorldTour Team, the races are longer and they make you ride more races. Sometimes you do two or three stage races in one month, so it takes time to build up to the volume of races. Also, the culture of a French team was new so I had to make some adjustments with that. So those are the big differences. With the volume of racing and the races being longer, you need to train longer, so I had to step up my training.

    VH: You rode plenty of races in your first season, with particular focus on the classics. What would you say were the biggest things that you learned in your first year?

    HH: I learned a lot! The first thing: to get to know a course, like, say, in Belgium . . . it’s hard, so it takes a couple of years to get to know the cobbled sectors and how to approach them and place yourself. So that’s the main thing. Even if you are strong, if you’re not well-placed, you don’t finish in the front, so last year I was more trying to understand the cobbled sectors. Now I’m good and I know them, so it’s easier to be well-placed, with good timing, and know when I have to move up. So that’s one thing. And also learning how to race with the team, the teamwork, and all that stuff. To know a teammate, what they like and what they want me to do, because I’m still pretty young so I have to do a lot of work and understand the races and do the best I can to help them save energy to be there at the end.

    VH: You look to be getting more comfortable in your second season, both in longer races and on the cobbles: last year you started Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, but this year you started and finished them. Do you feel that you have continued to develop this year?

    HH: Yeah, for sure. Like I said, in those big races I now have more endurance so I can hold on for longer. So it’s easier to finish a race because I’ve become used to that distance and I know how to be well-placed. . . . So for sure it’s easier in the second year. . . . It’s not easy but I’ve learned a lot and I progress every year so that’s a good thing and the team is happy with the work I do.

    VH: Does AG2R La Mondiale have a specific role that they’re hoping you’ll grow into, maybe for the classics, or as a time trialist, etc.? You have a pretty versatile skillset.

    HH: For now they want me to do the work more than do my own stuff, but I have a good time trial and when I have an opportunity to do good on that, I always go all out. But they always put me in the big races, so to get the wins it’s hard because I’m still young. I do most of the classics, that’s where they want me to do well and support other riders, but they’re not talking about a leadership role, it’s more a support role for now. But I’m more of a punchy rider, so when it’s hills, circuit races like Quebec and Montreal, that’s where I could be good.

    VH: Are there any particular aspects of your skillset that you’ve worked to improve this season?

    HH: Yeah, they want me to lose some weight and be better in the hills. But it also depends on the time of year, because I’m doing classics the beginning of the year, and there we need more power for flat sections . . . and then for the second half of the year you need to be climbing, because I do more stage races, like Wallonie, Pologne, and now Limousin. It’s more hills, so I work more on those and am careful for weight because it makes a huge difference, the ratio of power to weight. . . . And before nationals I was doing more time trials. So I just try to see which races I’m going to do and try to train to be ready for that kind of effort. Let’s say if I do Montreal/Quebec, I try to do three to five minute hills to get ready for that kind of effort when I arrive at the race, so that I’m ready to do that. So all year, it changes.

    VH: Speaking of nationals: you’ve won both the Canadian U23 time trial and road race championships in the past, and you put in good performances this year at the top level with a 2nd place in the ITT and 7th in the road race. Is representing Canada on the international stage important to you?

    HH: Yeah, for sure. It’s important to try to build up the sport more in Canada. The sport is doing well, a lot of people are cycling and getting more interested in it. In Quebec they show more races now, all the classics and the three Grand Tours. Before it was only the Tour de France, so that’s a good development. For me, to be an ambassador for that is important, and to work with national teams and do well at nationals, that’s important for me. Racing in Europe, you bring a lot of experience that you can share with other riders. . . . I was pretty lucky to have Spidertech to make me race in Europe, and I was able to have a good result at the World Championship. That’s what helped me make the jump to a WorldTour team. The hardest thing is to get to a team. After, if you do well, your job and everything else, they keep you on board and you make friends with people. But the hardest part is to make a team in Europe and that’s why it’s hard for Canadians. So if I can help with that, it’s always good, and it’s nice to have more Canadians in the pro field. It’s important to do well and represent the country and get other riders to come to our level and come race with us.

    VH: Do you think a Canadian champs jersey, either for the time trial or the road race, might be a possibility in your future?

    HH: Yeah, that would be a goal. Right now it’s hard in the time trial with Svein Tuft, he’s pretty good at it! But I’m still young and have a couple of years ahead of me, so one day it could happen if I work hard and it’s something I would love to do. To wear the jersey in Europe for a whole year is something special and it gives you good visibility so it’s really important. I hope to do the double, like I did in U23, in the coming years. It would be great, but it’s always hard; Nationals, it’s always a special race because everyone knows the WorldTour guys are stronger and they all look at us to make the race and chase, so it’s always strange, but for time trial, I’ll keep training hard on that and one day maybe I’ll be as strong as Svein Tuft.

    VH: Well he is 37, so you have to think that at some point, maybe . . .

    HH: Yeah. I’m still 23 so I’ve still got a couple of years ahead of me!

    VH: What are your goals for the rest of the season?

    HH: I’d like to put in a result at the Tour of Alberta. It’s a good opportunity for me to race for the national team and I’m going to be a team leader and can do what I want to do, so I hope I can make a result there, and then a great performance in Montréal and Québec would be great for the people there and in front of my family, so I hope for a good result.

    VH: Last question, looking into the future a bit. Is there one particular race that maybe you grew up watching or maybe that you’ve ridden now and enjoyed that stands out as one you’re hoping to target for success in your career?

    HH: I think a lot of the races that I wanted to do, one-day races, I’ve done almost all of them, but now I will try to go for a Grand Tour for next year. Maybe the Giro or the Vuelta, though the Tour de France will be hard. The goal would be to ride the Tour de France before I stop cycling. I was not thinking about it when I started cycling, because it was just for fun, but now in the past few years I’ve seen that become more realistic. So to finish the Tour de France would be a big accomplishment, and racing the Olympics would be good also, so that’s the next step for me and that’s where I want to go.

    Still a few weeks shy of 24, Hugo’s role as a developing rider gaining experience particularly in the one-day races puts him in an interesting position on a team hoping to expand its results beyond the steep mountains, where they have had so much success this year. At the moment, Hugo is focused on landing results in Canada’s collection of major late-summer events, where profiles heavy on the short climbs suit his skillset nicely.

    -Dane Cash

    Photo by Kramon.