The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec usually comes down to a sprint of strongmen, but sometimes the race pans out differently. As it did in 2022 and 2015 after late attacks by Benoît Cosnefroy and Rigoberto Uran, respectively. But usually the likes of Michael Matthews (2019, 2018) and Arnaud De Lie (2023) outsprint their colleagues at the end of a testing uphill drag.
Foy years now, the race includes sixteen laps of 12.6 kilometres. Each round begins with a section through the Parc des Champs-de-Bataille, a park that’s perched up a cliff overlooking the Saint Lawrence River. After 4 kilometres the route drops down to the river bank and continues on the Boulevard de Champlain, which is the flattest section of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.
The last 3.5 kilometres of each round are the most interesting. The riders tackle the Côte de la Montagne, a 375 metres ramp with an average gradient of 10%, before continuing onto the city walls of the narrow Rue de Remparts. Then the next climb appears. Côte de la Potasse is 420 metres long and slopes at 9% before a short descend leads onto the Montée de la Fabrique.
The Montée de la Fabrique, which is 190 metres long and climbs at 7%, tops out with 1.2 kilometres to go. What follows is a testing uphill drag at approximately 4% all the way to the line.
Another interesting read: race results/report and start list 2024 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.
GP Québec 2024: route, profile, more
Click on the images to zoom
