"I missed a little something when Yates and Sivakov attacked" - Valentin Madouas relatively satisfied with fourth place in Montreal

A week after his prestigious victory in the Bretagne Classic, Valentin Madouas was again among the main contenders in a WorldTour Classic on Sunday. In the Grand Prix de Montréal, the French champion used his resistance to remain in contention for the podium until the end. On the line, he eventually took fourth place of the day.

"It was a bit of a waiting race," said the Frenchman. "The guys did a very, very good job of trying to make it harder and then UAE Team Emirates took over, and we just had to try to follow and wait for the race to open up in the last two laps."

"I missed a little something when Yates and Sivakov attacked in the climb," added Madouas. "I stayed with the group then I tried to make my effort on the next hill. Unfortunately, we only came back at 3-4 seconds, then it became very tactical."

Despite previous efforts, Valentin Madouas found the energy to catch the first chasing group in the last two kilometres. Entering the final straight, he could no longer aim for victory, but the podium of the day was still very much in reach. "I tried and managed to close the gap to fight for third place," continued Madouas. "I was in a group of five, and I knew that Aranburu was very fast so I took his wheel. I waited for him to crack, but he never did."