Tadej Pogacar "enjoyed it and I had a good day" at GP de Montréal as he soared back into top form

Tadej Pogacar had since finishing the Tour de France not shown a strong performance typical of his attributes, but he has returned to the top step today at the GP de Montréal with an outstanding win ahead of Wout van Aert.

“The race was very tough. The team worked so well, that was perfect for me. Wout is one of the best sprinters in the world, but this is a tough finish. I gave everything in the sprint and it worked. It's unbelievable," Pogacar told reporters at the end of the day. Unlike Friday's race in Québec, the second Canadian race was a good fit for the climbers, who had at Mount Royal space to cause a lot of damage. UAE Team Emirates put in a lot of work early on to slowly fade the energy of the faster men, preparing to set up an attack in the final lap.

All the favourites saved their legs towards the end. Pogacar made his move halfway up the final time up the main climb of the day, having Wout van Aert and Andrea Bagioli respond. Eventually, Adam Yates and David Gaudu joined and formed the winning group, which had Van Aert as the man to beat but a difficult uphill sprint ahead. The five riders seemed to be perfectly matched in the small hilltops that anticipated the final kilometer, where a sprint was unavoidable.

Pogacar responded to the early sprint of David Gaudu, closing the gap, but impressively rolling an extremely high cadence in what could only be described as a demolishing sprint, where he kept his power all the way into the line, having Wout van Aert back on his saddly as he was unable to respond to such acceleration. “This course suited me very well. I really enjoyed it and I had a good day. It was one of the toughest races of the year. After the Tour de France I was not in good shape, because I had taken a lot of rest and was mainly preparing for this period of the season," Pogacar said, after a tricky classics period where he hadn't proved his form ahead of the World Championships.

Like several others in the field, this was the final race before the Worlds for Pogacar. The profile resembles what he'll face in Wollongong, and this win came as great motivation. “Today I had a good day and that gives me a lot of confidence towards the World Championships. It's always different racing with national teams, but I'm confident and in good shape. It's going to be a tough race and I can't wait to start there," he concluded.