A late attack by a true climber set up the win on a hard course of climbing in the 2015 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, but that didn’t stop Team Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff from putting his head down and sprinting for the finish line. Kristoff took third on the stage behind winner Rigoberto Uran of Etixx – Quick Step and Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) in second place.

"I tried everything I could, but the circuit was a little bit harder than last year because they pulled out some of the flat sections. I knew the finish was not perfect for me – actually if the finish could have been anywhere else in the parcours it would have been better than where it was. So with that in mind, I’m pretty happy with a third place," said Alexander Kristoff.

Uran lit out for the finish line with 1000 m to go, taking the field by surprise and stealing the win in front of a huge crowd of cycling fans. Matthews and Kristoff were the best among the chasers, but just missed a little to catch the Colombian climber.

"It was hard out there today but in the end Kristoff was better than last year. I think he spent everything today so we’re not expecting so much for Sunday Montréal. I also saw a very good Sergey Lagutin today, also Alexey Tsatevich was also quite good. We tried to attack with Viacheslav Kuznetsov and that was good too. We kept Lagutin easy today with Montréal in mind and also Ilnur Zakarin, perhaps he can try something on Sunday," said team director Dmitry Konyshev, looking ahead to the second race on Sunday.

The 6th edition of the World Tour Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec took place in the heart of historic Québec City on Friday. The 201,6 km race included 16 laps at 12,6 km each, primarily in the old part of the city, with the course winding up and down through Battlefield Park and along the Saint Lawrence River. Many attacks went clear and were reeled back as the laps ticked over, but most of the favorites were in the front when Uran took the race in hand near the red kite and earned the victory.

After a transfer on Saturday, the one-day Gran Prix Cycliste de Montréal will take place in the downtown streets of the city on Sunday.

"Sunday’s climb is too hard for me – the finish is better but the course is heavier so I don’t think I’ll be there. I will use Montréal for training as I look forward to the Worlds. When I think about how I feel before Richmond, I can say I felt better today than I expected. Last year I was not 100% at the Worlds so I hope to be better this time. Today was a good confirmation of my shape," concluded Alexander Kristoff, referring to the UCI Worlds Championships in Richmond, Virginia on September 27th.

Today results became 100th podium place for Team Katusha in 2015. This season Katusha scored 40 victories, 26 second and 34 third places.