Tinkoff-Saxo lines up a roster of proven riders to tackle GP Québec and GP Montréal, as the World Tour transfers action to Canada and two undulating city circuits. While Matti Breschel spearheads the squad during the faster GP Québec, Roman Kreuziger will be the team’s protected rider for the hillier challenge in Montréal.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo’s full roster for both races Friday and Sunday will feature Roman Kreuiziger, Matti Breschel, Michael Rogers, Manuele Boaro, Chris Juul-Jensen, Michael Valgren, Matteo Tosatto and Bruno Pires.
 
For the two demanding races, Tinkoff-Saxo sports director Sean Yates, predicts that the prominent list of riders will create two races of high-level racing.
 
“Firstly, the fact that it’s close to the World Championships, both in time and distance, means that the level here is considerable. There’s a certain amount of riders that come here to polish the shape whilst looking for a result – some of them from our squad. Then, both races are World Tour and they take place on challenging parcours, which is not bad for us. We got a strong squad and we’re here aiming for a top result”, comments Sean Yates before adding:

“In races like these, it’s important to have a guy that stands out and can make the difference in the finale – our guy is Matti at the moment and Roman is also very motivated. Matti has showed that he has good legs, it didn’t pan out in GP Plouay but his form is good and he also has the Worlds ahead of him, where he has a great tendency to get top results. Roman wants to go for it at Montréal and the parcours with 3,893 altitude meters suits him better, while Matti’s speed will come in handy in Québec”.

GP Québec starting Friday consists of 16 laps on a 12.6km city circuit for a total of 201.6km. As the race is concluded atop a gradual climb, the riders will have tackled 2,976 altitude meters, while two days later in Montréal, Tinkoff-Saxo will face 17 laps of 12.1km and 3,893 altitude meters.
 
“We have one of the strongest teams here looking at the overall lineup, but you have to have that guy that can make the difference. Gilbert, Van Avermaet, Kwiatkowski are here and have that ability, so we have to go out there and get in the mix. We will be conservative during both races, as they are typically decided on the last lap, but we have to be aggressive in the right moment. If you blow your matches too soon on parcours like these, it’s game over”, explains Sean Yates, who notes that several riders will have a free role in Québec, while Roman Kreuziger is Tinkoff-Saxo’s main man Sunday in Montréal.

“Matti is obviously fast and will be our guy, if Québec comes down to a sprint in a select group. It’s free hands for some of the other guys but they will naturally help each other out. Québec is always like a lottery to a certain extent and we have to have several cards to play. Chris Juul had a bad day in GP Plouay, hopefully he can turn that around. But together with a rider like Valgren, he can play an important role in the earlier moves of GP Montréal. Surely it would be great to have both of them with Roman in the last lap”, finishes Sean Yates.