GP de Québec 2026 preview, profile, favourites & predictions - Evenepoel, Seixas, Del Toro and Pidcock go head-to-head on 17% wall finish
Cycling
The GP de Québec is the first of the two Canadian World Tour classics that take place over the course of the second weekend of September. On the 11th of September, the explosive one-day race will give way to the sprinters and classics specialists to battle for an important victory. We take a look at its profile.
The race was first held in 2010, together with its 'sibling' the GP de Montréal. Right from the start it was a high-level event, with Thomas Voeckler taking the first victory, before Philippe Gilbert won it in 2011 in what was his golden year. Over the course of the decade it were mostly puncheurs who won it, with the particular note that both Peter Sagan and Michael Matthews won it two consecutive times in its final years.
In 2022, following the Covid-19 shutdown, it was Benoît Cosnefroy who triumphed in Québec. Arnaud de Lie won it 2023, Michael Matthews rolled back the years to win it once again in 2024; and in 2025 the newly-altered circuit led to a more open race, won by Julian Alaphilippe who had there his final career victory.
Profile: Québec - Québec
Québec - Québec, 205 kilometers
The GP de Québec covers 205 kilometers, split across 18 laps of just under 12.5 km each, totaling around 2,500 meters of climbing. It’s a rolling race, with each lap including an ascent, though this year brings a significant change in the finale.
The opening half of the circuit takes riders on a descent from downtown Québec toward the river, covering the first five kilometers. The following four are flatter, offering teams a chance to reorganize and position their leaders ahead of the decisive climbs.
The finish is notably tougher than in recent years. Instead of the familiar double kicker separated by a downhill, the peloton now faces the Côte de la Montagne before a direct drag to the line. At 600 meters at 8%—with ramps maxing out at 17%—this is a savage, explosive climb tailor-made for punchers and climbers, not sprinters. From the summit, just 1.2 km of false flat remains to the line. It’s a finale that invites late attacks and saps the legs of the fast men.
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Preview GP de Québec 2026
Remco Evenepoel - The Olympic Champion sets off for Québec without too much pressure. His big goal is the worlds, whilst Montréal will be the race he pursues this weekend. This means he might be on the attack from early on to test his form, and get his race rhythm back. If he wants to play it conservative and battle for the win, he's got the right cards to win with a sprint. But for that, he needs a separate team to make it very hard all the way up the final climb.
UAE - UAE are a team with a Tour de France collective here. Isaac del Toro, Brandon McNulty, Jhonatan Narváez, Adam Yates, Tim Wellens, Felix Grossschartner and Florian Vermeersch. Pure luxury, and so there will be pressure to perform. Vermeersch and Grossschartner should be used as domestiques, and Tour of Britain winner Tim Wellens should take part alongside Brandon McNulty in any tactical early attacks - perhaps make them themselves. Adam Yates is not an explosive rider, he will have a supporting role, but can do quite well in hardening up a race before an attack on the climb.
The team have two main options to win the race. Del Toro, who might attack, and might also have the legs to sprint to victory; and Narváez, who is the strongest pure puncheur in the race. If he feels good enough, I wouldn't be surprised to see Del Toro either attack early or push the pace on the final climb for his teammate.
Paul Seixas - Backed by Tiesj Benoot, Paul Lapeira and Nicolas Prodhomme, the Frenchman is back to competition after the Tour de France. Don't expect him to ease into racing, his form should be good and even though the race is not perfect for him, the Decathlon leader should be rather competitive. He is not the fastest sprinter out of the climbers but is quite good and handles the short efforts very well. Even a late attack could be in his cards, if he does indeed feel like he can make the difference.
Tom Pidcock - The Briton does not have the collective of some of his rival teams, and so the best bet is to keep everyone together and go for a sprint. Pidcock is just off a mountain bike world championship victory, so his form is without a doubt good. Perfect on the shorter efforts, a strong sprinter... Pidcock might have the legs to follow any attack whilst in a sprint he might be the perfect mix for this hilltop finale.
Remco Evenepoel and Giulio Ciccone will be two of the main favourites to win the GP de Québec 2026
Yet even outside the 'big teams' there is so much to see and so many contenders. In fact collectively, some here are even stronger. Take Lidl-Trek for example, taking to the start with Juan Ayuso, Giulio Ciccone, Derek Gee, Quinn Simmons, Tom Skujins, Matteo Sobrero... It's a full-on Tour de France team showing up in Canada, and the team is certainly going to be on the attack because they do not have an outright favourite.
Visma have Matteo Jorgenson and Louis Barré to make moves; EF have Ben Healy and Alex Baudin; Lotto have Lennert van Eetvelt and Jenno Berckmoes; INEOS have Andrew August and Magnus Sheffield... Other riders such as Mauro Schmid, Afonso Eulálio, Marc Hirschi and Yannis Voisard are also to be taken into consideration.
What if it comes down to a sprint? Historically that is what has happened, but last year the circuit has been made more difficult and the sprinters don't have much restbite on the final climb - if at all. It is a more continuous effort, suited to the puncheurs and more so to the climbers.
But some teams will certainly have the interest to control the race and even if it's out of hand, if they resist, a final sprint could crown one. Michael Matthews is the obvious outlier, having here a perfect climbing-sprinting combination. Someone like Corbin Strong is also perfectly adapted, but both riders need their best form which is not always the case.
Anders Foldager, Edoardo Zambanini, Quinten Hermans, Kaden Groves and Guillermo Tomas Silva are all riders who will be seeking this scenario.
Prediction GP de Québec 2026:
*** Isaac del Toro, Tom Pidcock, Remco Evenepoel
** Paul Seixas, Jhonatan Narváez, Michael Matthews
* Brandon McNulty, Tim Wellens, Giulio Ciccone, Quinn Simmons, Jenno Berckmoes, Lennert van Eetvelt, Louis Barré, Matteo Jorgenson, Corbin Strong, Guillermo Thomas Silva, Mauro Schmid
Pick: Isaac del Toro
How: Reduced group sprint.
List of winners GP de Québec
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 2025 | Julian Alaphilippe | Pavel Sivakov | Alberto Bettiol |
| 2024 | Michael Matthews | Biniam Girmay | Rudy Molard |
| 2023 | Arnaud De Lie | Corbin Strong | Michael Matthews |
| 2022 | Benoît Cosnefroy | Michael Matthews | Biniam Girmay |
| 2021 | — | — | — |
| 2020 | — | — | — |
| 2019 | Michael Matthews | Peter Sagan | Greg Van Avermaet |
| 2018 | Michael Matthews | Greg Van Avermaet | Jasper Stuyven |
| 2017 | Peter Sagan | Greg Van Avermaet | Michael Matthews |
| 2016 | Peter Sagan | Greg Van Avermaet | Anthony Roux |
| 2015 | Rigoberto Urán | Michael Matthews | Alexander Kristoff |
| 2014 | Simon Gerrans | Tom Dumoulin | Ramūnas Navardauskas |
| 2013 | Robert Gesink | Arthur Vichot | Greg Van Avermaet |
| 2012 | Simon Gerrans | Greg Van Avermaet | Rui Costa |
| 2011 | Philippe Gilbert | Robert Gesink | Rigoberto Urán |
| 2010 | Thomas Voeckler | Edvald Boasson Hagen | Robert Gesink |
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Ernesto Maggioni - The president of the commissaires Mafia. It is getting evident that this guy is basically "Iamalwaysrightandyouarestupidsoiwontlistentoyou" kind of guy. So fire him so that he can be always right in his homeabstractengineer10-11-2026
- Somehow it has got into his mind that he is a GC rider. He is primarily a classics and stage rider who can perform on GC given his day. As a result he is wasting his time on TDF GC and once committed to GC you are too tired to do anything else.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- 🐐❤️Lozza09-11-2026
- This is such a black eye to women's professional cyclocross if this result remains. Marie Schreiber won this race fairly. This finish is not unlike others in cyclocross. Lots of moving around to get to the finish not to cut anyone off , but to generate a sprint on soft wide tires caked with mud and sand. This is not nearly the same as a road race between two riders sprinting to the finish on faster bikes and thinner firmer tires. The powers in charge need to use some common sense, reverse this result and remember this is Cyclocross not Road racing. Unbelievable. . .Zencycle09-11-2026
- Tis beyond your comprehension fine sir so best not to look on with blind eyes to THE GOATS greatness.
Brucegel09-11-2026 - McNulty winning was beneficial in ensuring the rainbow jersey would not remain winless
Front24209-11-2026 - Eccelente! That's 7 riders in total in Red Bull who come from the devo team, 8 if you include Lipo
Rafionain-Glas09-11-2026 - again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
- as excellent as maga rednecks chloe dygert (and quinn simmons)?Ketterechts09-11-2026
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