"Unfortunately, I could not follow Alaphilippe" - Pavel Sivakov leads UAE to 2nd in Quebec as Tadej Pogacar falters on racing return

Pavel Sivakov admitted he was “super happy” with his form despite narrowly missing out on victory at the 2025 GP de Québec, finishing second behind Julian Alaphilippe after an aggressive UAE Team Emirates - XRG display shaped much of the day’s racing.

The reworked final circuit, which removed descents and tightened the finale around a punchier final ascent, was expected to favour teams willing to race early and take control. UAE did exactly that. Tim Wellens and Nils Politt helped ignite the race with over 80 kilometres remaining, laying the groundwork for Sivakov to bridge across to a dangerous move alongside several strong riders — including eventual winner Alaphilippe, Bettiol, Hermans, and Skjelmose.

“We wanted to open the race, make it hard from a little over halfway… Nils really helped us to open a good gap,” Sivakov said in comments posted to UAE's official website afterwards.

While UAE kept their leader Tadej Pogacar in reserve in the bunch, Sivakov found himself in what would become the race-defining move. With Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Team Jayco AlUla reluctant to let the break go too far — both riding in service of Van Aert and Matthews respectively — the dynamic turned tactical. But the cohesion in the large front group held, and the gap to the peloton never truly began to fall.

“I was thinking the group behind could come back and I was ready to do the job for the boys, but then with 3km to go I realised that we were going to play the win,” Sivakov said. “In the last lap, I was not pulling with the group and saving the legs for the last climb, but unfortunately, I could not follow Alaphilippe in the last steep kicker.”

The decisive moment came on the final ramp — a vicious 17% pitch where Alaphilippe, in vintage fashion, launched an explosive acceleration. Sivakov and Bettiol were briefly in contact, but neither could hold the Frenchman’s wheel as he surged away for his first victory in Tudor colours.

“It was really close,” Sivakov reflected. “It would have been nice to add a win to our streak for the record, but this will be for another time and just super happy to have a good shape to end the season.”

“I would say it went to plan,” he adds. “We were expecting [the break] to come back and then probably sprint with the boys, but it was a change this year and I think it did change [the race] for sure. I think we will have to take on the race — we have the favourite and probably the strongest team here. So it will be up to us to really make it hard and go for it.”

The result keeps UAE’s late-season form rolling, even if the streak of victories didn’t extend into Quebec. And for Sivakov, a second place behind a rider like Alaphilippe — especially when contributing to the team’s plan so actively — marks another step forward in a strong end to 2025.