The preparation for the world championships enter its final phase, and the riders that are not racing the Vuelta, can't find a better place to fine-tune their conditions than Canada. During their 4 years of existence, the hilly circuits in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal have developed into the perfect worlds warm-up and has attracted a host of climbers and classics specialists. Starting at 18.30 CEST you can follow the race in Quebec on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

It's hard to find a world championships contender that isn't riding/has been riding in the Vuelta or has crossed the Atlantic to battle it out on the Canadian roads, and that has made the Canadians put together a fabulous line-up. Tour winner Chris Froome uses the races as his final preparation for the worlds and major favourite Peter Sagan has similar plans. If you add riders like Richie Porte, Ryder Hesjedal, Andrew Talansky, Alberto Contador, Rui Costa, Simon Spilak, Alexandr Kolobnev, Sylvain Chavanel, Michal Kwiatkowski, Enrico Gasparotto, Andy Schhleck, Jan Bakelants, Robert Gesink, Steven Srijkswijk, Christophe Riblon, Romain Bardet, Cadel Evans, Greg Van Avermaet, Tejan van Garderen, Michael Albasini, Damiano Cunego, Filippo Pozzato, John Degenkolb, Jurgen Roelandts and Bjorn Leukemans, you have the outline of a star-studded field.

The race in Quebec is the easist but involves more than 3000m of climbing and is a race for the Ardennes specialists. A winners list that includes the names Thomas Voeckler, Philippe Gilbert og Simon Gerrans gives an idea of the type of rider that excels on the hilly circuit, and the race is usually a festival of attacks. It will require a tremendous effort from Cannondal to bring everything together for a sprint from a small group on the tough finishing straight that has a 4% gradient.

Starting at 18.30 CEST you can follow the race here. You can read our preview here.