Benoît Cosnefroy wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec with late attack

Michael Matthews and Biniam Girmay complete the podium.

Photo: Getty Images

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Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën Team) claimed a sensational win at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec after a daring attack with 2km to go. The former U23 world champion timed his attack perfectly, going clear on the final climb before holding off a late chase from the remnants of the main field.

Michael Matthews and Biniam Girmay completed the podium.

“It’s incredible. I’m not sure what happened but I didn’t think I could win like that,” Cosnefroy said at the finish.

“I wanted to attack and it was planned but we had Greg van Avermaet for the sprint so I was to play my cards first and it worked out. I’m really happy to win here.”

Cosnefroy’s attack came after a pulsating last few laps around the Canadian city in which a number of groups clipped off the front. The Frenchman only held a slender gap on the chase with Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) leading the charge for his team and pre-race favorite Wout van Aert. However the Frenchman only managed to pull a handful of riders with him as he set off in pursuit of Cosnefroy.

When Laporte looked back to see that Van Aert was not on his wheel he immediately sat up and that hesitation appeared to give Cosnefroy a crucial advantage inside the final 1,000m.

With Jumbo-Visma disjointed it fell on the rest of the peloton to mount a chase but by the time the sprinters became organized it was too late with Cosnefroy holding on to take one of the biggest wins of his career.

Van Aert would eventually settle for fourth place on the line.

Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec Results

Stage
RankNameTeamTime
1COSNEFROY BenoîtAG2R Citroën Team4:46:56
2MATTHEWS MichaelTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:04
3GIRMAY BiniamIntermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux0:04
4VAN AERT WoutJumbo-Visma0:04
5GARCÍA CORTINA IvánMovistar Team0:04
6HONORÉ Mikkel FrølichQuick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team0:04
7YATES AdamINEOS Grenadiers0:04
8BETTIOL AlbertoEF Education-EasyPost0:04
9ULISSI DiegoUAE Team Emirates0:04
10BARGUIL WarrenTeam Arkéa Samsic0:04
11LOUVEL MatisTeam Arkéa Samsic0:04
12BILBAO PelloBahrain - Victorious0:04
13VAN AVERMAET GregAG2R Citroën Team0:04
14SKUJIŅŠ TomsTrek - Segafredo0:04
15KAMP AlexanderTrek - Segafredo0:04
16TRATNIK JanBahrain - Victorious0:04
17GUERREIRO RubenEF Education-EasyPost0:04
18MONIQUET SylvainLotto Soudal0:04
19SCHMID MauroQuick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team0:04
20BARDET RomainTeam DSM0:04
21MARTIN GuillaumeCofidis0:04
22BAGIOLI AndreaQuick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team0:04
23POWLESS NeilsonEF Education-EasyPost0:04
24POGAČAR TadejUAE Team Emirates0:04
25NIZZOLO GiacomoIsrael - Premier Tech0:04
26LATOUR PierreTotalEnergies0:04
27VALTER AttilaGroupama - FDJ0:04
28BYSTRØM Sven ErikIntermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux0:04
29VELASCO SimoneAstana Qazaqstan Team0:04
30VANMARCKE SepIsrael - Premier Tech0:04
31ZEITS AndreyAstana Qazaqstan Team0:12
32ALEOTTI GiovanniBORA - hansgrohe0:13
33PICCOLO AndreaEF Education-EasyPost0:13
34VERMEERSCH FlorianLotto Soudal0:13
35BALMER AlexandreTeam BikeExchange - Jayco0:13
36TURGIS AnthonyTotalEnergies0:13
37PICHON LaurentTeam Arkéa Samsic0:23
38BARBERO CarlosLotto Soudal0:23
39LAPORTE ChristopheJumbo-Visma0:27
40KONRAD PatrickBORA - hansgrohe0:27
41VLIEGEN LoïcIntermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux0:27
42GAUDU DavidGroupama - FDJ0:30
43VANHOUCKE HarmLotto Soudal0:30
44ASKEY LewisGroupama - FDJ0:48
45BOIVIN GuillaumeIsrael - Premier Tech1:16
46OSS DanielTotalEnergies1:17
47VAN TRICHT StanQuick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team1:17
48DELETTRE AlexandreCofidis1:17
49BARRÉ LouisTeam Arkéa Samsic1:17
50FUGLSANG JakobIsrael - Premier Tech1:17
51WANDAHL FrederikBORA - hansgrohe1:17
52SCHULTZ NickTeam BikeExchange - Jayco1:20
53VANSEVENANT MauriQuick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team1:20
54MOHORIČ MatejBahrain - Victorious1:20
55ARANBURU AlexMovistar Team1:25
56GIBBONS RyanUAE Team Emirates1:30
57VAN DER SANDE ToshJumbo-Visma2:34
58DEWULF StanAG2R Citroën Team2:37
59DOUBEY FabienTotalEnergies2:37
60MAAS JanTeam BikeExchange - Jayco2:47
61PERNSTEINER HermannBahrain - Victorious2:47
62LEKNESSUND AndreasTeam DSM2:58
63PARET-PEINTRE AurélienAG2R Citroën Team3:02
64VENTURINI ClémentAG2R Citroën Team3:02
65MARTÍNEZ Daniel FelipeINEOS Grenadiers3:02
66KNOX JamesQuick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team3:02
67DUCHESNE AntoineGroupama - FDJ3:12
68SCARONI ChristianAstana Qazaqstan Team3:12
69FINÉ EddyCofidis3:12
70COVI AlessandroUAE Team Emirates3:12
71STORER MichaelGroupama - FDJ3:12
72COMBAUD RomainTeam DSM3:12
73ARCAS JorgeMovistar Team3:12
74PASQUALON AndreaIntermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux3:12
75IZAGIRRE GorkaMovistar Team3:21
76STUYVEN JasperTrek - Segafredo3:21
77SIMMONS QuinnTrek - Segafredo3:21
78VAN HOOYDONCK NathanJumbo-Visma3:21
79CLARKE SimonIsrael - Premier Tech3:40
80SCHELLING IdeBORA - hansgrohe3:55
81BENEDETTI CesareBORA - hansgrohe3:55
82FORMOLO DavideUAE Team Emirates3:55
83LADAGNOUS MatthieuGroupama - FDJ4:24
84KEUKELEIRE JensEF Education-EasyPost6:08
85NIBALI AntonioAstana Qazaqstan Team6:36
86DELACROIX ThéoIntermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux6:36
87BITTNER PavelTeam DSM6:36
88ROUX AnthonyGroupama - FDJ6:36
89VERSCHAEVE ViktorLotto Soudal6:36
90HOLLMANN JuriMovistar Team6:36
91CORT MagnusEF Education-EasyPost6:36
92ANACONA WinnerTeam Arkéa Samsic6:36
93ZWIEHOFF BenBORA - hansgrohe6:36
94KANGERT TanelTeam BikeExchange - Jayco6:36
95TUSVELD MartijnTeam DSM6:36
96CARUSO DamianoBahrain - Victorious6:36
97ROOSEN TimoJumbo-Visma6:36
98FELLINE FabioAstana Qazaqstan Team6:36
99TOUMIRE HugoCofidis6:36
100DOMBROWSKI JoeAstana Qazaqstan Team6:36
101THOMAS GeraintINEOS Grenadiers6:36
102COSTA RuiUAE Team Emirates6:36
103NEILANDS KristsIsrael - Premier Tech6:36
104CHEREL MikaëlAG2R Citroën Team6:36
105BENNETT GeorgeUAE Team Emirates6:36
106SCHÄR MichaelAG2R Citroën Team6:36
107GRIGNARD SébastienLotto Soudal8:31
108ČERNÝ JosefQuick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team10:19
109EENKHOORN PascalJumbo-Visma10:19
110CARVALHO AndreCofidis10:19
111COTÉ Pier-AndréCanada10:19
112GAMPER PatrickBORA - hansgrohe11:01
113FOSS TobiasJumbo-Visma11:01
114RIOU AlanTeam Arkéa Samsic11:01
115CARR SimonEF Education-EasyPost14:10
116OURSELIN PaulTotalEnergies14:10
117DECLERCQ BenjaminTeam Arkéa Samsic14:10
118BARTA WillMovistar Team14:10
119SWIFT BenINEOS Grenadiers14:10

Results provided by ProCyclingStats.

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