Michael Matthews was a big favourites for today's GP de Québec, and he proved it, winning the bunch sprint that was expected, however to second place as one escapee Benoît Cosnefroy survived the surge from the peloton.
"Disappointment prevails at the moment. I came very close to my third win in a row here. That was my goal today and it is of course a pity that it does not work. But a second place is still a good result and I should be happy about that," Matthews said after the finish. Winner of the past two editions, the Australian came as the main favourite alongside Wout van Aert to the race. Although they had to get in on the action beforehand, they both played their cards to a sprint.
“When Cosnefroy went, everyone looked at Wout van Aert. He was the top favorite today and everyone looked to him to chase," Matthews described. "He had a rider just behind Cosnefroy [Christophe Laporte, who had also attacked], so he played some poker, just like the rest of our group."
"Unfortunately, in the end it was sprinting for second place, because Cosnefroy was too strong today," he continued. Although the peloton came fast from behind, it was no longer possible to reach the Frenchman. Matthews sprinted to second place and confirmed his good form, but has left disappointed as he faced a possible high-level win.
“I had a very good day. The course couldn't hurt me very much today and I still had a good sprint left. In preparation for the World Cup, I feel that the top form is coming. I now first have to look forward to Sunday, in which I hope I can go for the win again," he concluded. Matthews will have a harder race in Montréal, and following the trend of this season, he should be one of the main favourites.
His second place has also brought Team BikeExchange - Jayco 400 points, which will be incredibly important in the fight for maintenance at World Tour level.
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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#GPCQM 🇨🇦 Bittersweet! A late attacker steals the day, chapeau! @blingmatthews takes the sprint from the chasing group a handful of seconds behind 💪👏 ®️ESULT: 2nd 🥈 Consnefroy (AGR) wins 🏁
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