The gap to the breakaway peaks at just over five minutes before the rouleurs start slowly bringing it down. They don't want to take any chances today. Their heavy pace spreads the peloton out, which is a recipe for splits on this wet and technical parcour. Indeed, with just four laps remaining 45 riders split off the front. Sean McKENNA, Ion IZAGIRRE, Josef CERNY, Joni KANERVA and the various Grieg-Maersk puncheurs all miss the cut. Xuban ERRAZKIN and Ian BOSWELL are back there with them, but at least their directeur sportifs can shift to their backup plans in Edward THEUNS and Jhonatan NARVAEZ respectively. It is QUADRELLI who chases the hardest; presumably because his team leader, Wilco KELDERMAN, has been isolated.
Serious misfortune for Clement KORETZKY. He has suffered a puncture at a most inopportune moment! Although he's only an outside favourite at best, his directeur sportif will be fuming. Perhaps they will find solace in the fact that there are plenty of domestiques waiting to go to work for him? Indeed: a monster effort by Zisis SOULIOUS bridges him back across before the base of the climb.
Joel SUTER looks to light things up as the peloton approaches three to go! I'm not sure about this move given the Swiss has spent the entire day pulling on the front. Maybe Matej MOHORIC is not satisfied by the other teams pace? It falls to KRASTS and MUNDLE to bring him back, as Cristofer Robin JURADO refused to follow the movement.
It was a set up! JURADO didn't chase because Andres PAEZ told him that he could bridge across. He has to be careful here though, the big guns are right behind him, led by Miguel Angel LOPEZ. That's too much heat and Petr VAKOC tells him to back off. All the while SUTER is getting further and further up the road.
The attacks seem to be coming left, right, and centre. The big teams are looking to utilise their depth so the favourites will have to watch out: they can't burn too many matches closing riders down but they also can't afford to miss the decisive move. This time it is Jan POLANC who sets off. Although KELDERMAN was the first to react, the wily Slovene slunk through a rapidly diminishing gap between KINOSHITA and LOPEZ that left no room for KELDERMAN to follow. Eventually Joseph ARERUYA barges his way past them and bridges across. As soon as the attack's momentum peters out Floris GERTS closes the gap. This acceleration brings SUTER back within 30 seconds.
ARERUYA isn't willing to sit in the wind; his soft-pedalling allows Tiesj BENOOT to make a move mere moments before MUNDLE makes his way back to the front of the pack. Anthony TURGIS looks to mark the move, but he needn't have bothered. For all his prowess on more difficult terrain, BENOOT doesn't have the necessary acceleration to snap the elastic on flat tarmac.
Unimpressed, SKUJINS looks to show him how it is done. KINOSHITA, ARERUYA, and MAL all move to follow him. If this group gets away it could spell disaster for the hopes of anybody else. Fortunately MOHORIC is alive to the danger and snuffs out the opportunity.
It is rapidly becoming clear that the decisive move won't be made on the flat, there are far too many riders willing to shut things down. MAL instead opts for the terrain that puncheurs are generally known for and launches his own attack just as the peloton hits the bump that precipitates the main climb: Côte de la Montagne. SKUJINS has just expended himself and the lactic acid flooding through his legs prevents him from following the wheel himself. Unfortunately his selfless decision to pull off to the side and allow the others through backfires, instead trapping KORETZKY against the fence just as the Frenchman gathered the requisite momentum to bridge across. He regathers himself and goes again, BENOOT on his wheel with TURGIS struggling to follow.
MAL is off and away. KORETZKY failed to close him down and BENOOT's flailing efforts were unable to prevent him from riding away. With domestiques short on the ground it falls to Alex ZINGLE to lead the chase as MAL goes flying past SUTER. The escapees have just over a minute on him as they approach the penultimate lap.
The gap to MAL rapidly inflates to a minute, much to the despair of ARERUYA. The Rwandan attacks just as SUTER, whose resolve was broken when he was overtaken, is brought back into the fold. Again it is TURGIS immediately on his wheel, although behind new names appear as THEUNS and Emanuel BUCHMANN show their faces. Although the group is momentarily galvanised, nobody is willing to take up the mantle when ARERUYA pulls off the front and the gap balloons out once more. The only consequence is that the chasing group is now down to just 24 riders with Zico WAEYTENS and Kevin GENIETS the biggest casualties, although both still have teammates amongst the favourites.
With the stock of domestiques depleted it is PAEZ who once more ups the pace. His pull is sufficient to reduce the gap to just over 30 seconds but with their target in sight the cohesion of chasing group collapses once more. It is again ARERUYA who pulls the trigger: if he keeps attacking again and again then surely he won't have anything left for the finish. Everybody files in behind him and... maybe I spoke too soon, they are working together! After taking a relatively short turn at the front ARERUYA shifts over and allows BUCHMANN to come powering through. It is only a select group that is willing to work as the returning PAEZ is the next to go to the front. This might be because everybody else is on the edge: the pace has proved too much for THEUNS, who is sinking like a stone.
MOHORIC accelerates on the descent from Côte de la Montagne. VALTER, BUCHMANN and TURGIS are stuck to him like glue but further back there are some difficulties. KINOSHITA forces ARERUYA to manoeuvre round him, then does the same to GERTS. No gaps emerge, but it does cause a touch of dissension in the ranks. As the bell rings for the final lap here in Quebec the seven escapees have just 20 seconds on MAL with the chasing group (now down to 20 riders) another ½-minute behind.
PAEZ has been working hard for his leader, slowly bringing down the gap; his directeur sportif needs to get on the radio to VAKOC and tell him to move to the front of the group. Sven Erik BYSTROM and Ronnilan QUITA, the other significant contributors, don't share the same concern as their leaders are more appropriately positioned. MAL has joined up with the morning's breakaway.
As the chasers come rocketing out of the difficult downhill section in single file Mauri VANSEVENANT has made his way to their head. He hasn't yet amalgamated a significant palmarès, so when he launches his attack the others might be forgiven for being caught unawares. VALTER, ever alert, is the first to respond whilst GERTS leads everybody else in trying to close the gap. The attacking duo go rocketing past MAL and the other escapees. As things calm down, there are 16 riders approaching the final ascent all together. More than 200 kilometres of racing all come down to this. BUHCMANN and NARVAEZ will not contest the win; they have fallen victim to this final acceleration and are now back with a still-chasing THEUNS.
There has been a split! MAL looks finished and has let a group consisting of the aforementioned front four plus KINOSHITA get away. BENOOT looks to come around the fading Colombian and bridge across but the delay means that elastic has most certainly snapped. Just as I was about to say it looked like everybody had safely survived this first strike all of MAL's earlier efforts came home to roost.
KORETZKY doesn't feel confident pulling his companions all the way into the finish and sits up. In his place MOHORIC comes flying up the right-hand side of the road. His head is down, his legs are pumping. He is the first into the corner as they hit the final climb of the day, the order behind is LUTSENKO, KINOSHITA, KORETZKY and then, finally, VALTER. GIDICH is panicking further back.
Although MOHORIC carried the most momentum into the uphill his body position was not one that screamed acceleration. Instead, at this early stage, it seems as though LUTSENKO has played it perfectly. Standing up, power flooding through the pedals, he surged into the lead up as they summit Côte de la Potasse. MOHORIC proved something of a roadblock, forcing KINOSHITA into a slightly wider line, and granting LUTSENKO the barest of margins.
That earlier moment proves to be truly decisive. Tomohiro KINOSHITA doesn't falter for a moment as he hammers his way to the line. He paced himself, trusted the process, followed the right wheels at the right time, and then struck a final decisive blow. This was, undeniably, a well deserved victory. His slightly greater presence earlier in the race might have counted against MOHORIC in that last gasp; although timing was the most important factor, I'm not sure he would've won even if he'd tried to go earlier. LUTSENKO, on the other hand, was too eager to take to the front and was punished for it. Still, a podium is a solid result for all of these riders.
VALTER just edges out KORETZKY for fourth. A valiant effort from both; they were evidently outclassed by those ahead of them, but can take solace in having played a superior tactical game when compared to those finishing behind them. First of which is, surprisingly, VANSEVENANT, followed by CALMEJANE; both of them should be happy with that. Less happy will be GIDICH in 9th and VAKOC in 10th. Both were positioned poorly and both suffered from the untimely demise of MAL, who ends up in 17th. He, along with ARERUYA in 11th and SKUJINS in 15th, suffered from riding an overly aggressive race; perhaps fearing that he wouldn't have the necessary win a sprint as the finale leveled out. Some competitors will be happy, some competitors will be disappointed, and the neutrals have most certainly been entertained! Thank you very much for joining us in Quebec for this year's thrilling edition of Grands Prix Cyclistes.
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