Belkin went into the Grand Prix Quebec with several cards to play. After an aggressive performance, the team ended with two riders in the top 10 as Sep Vanmarcke and Bauke Mollema were both close to the best in the uphill sprint.

The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM capitalized on aggressive team tactics on Friday, with David Tanner winning the King of the Mountains classification and Sep Vanmarcke and Bauke Mollema taking top -10 places at Canada’s 199.1-kilometer Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. 

The race, part of the UCI’s World Tour, was won by Australian Simon Gerrans (Orica- GreenEdge ) .

“I was simply attacking at a moment I thought was good,” said Tanner, 29, from Melbourne, Australia. “I had good legs today and I really like these races.”
 

The 199.1-kilometer race consisted of a rolling, 18.1km championship urban circuit through the streets of Québec City, with long stretches of wide-open avenues along the shores of the Fleuve Saint-Laurent and a challenging climb up the Cote du Montagne to the start-finish line atop the Grand Allée in the heart of the city “Vieille Capitale.”

The Belkin boys raced aggressively all day. Early in race , Dennis van Winden of Holland joined an early, four-man breakaway that gained a one-time advantage of more than 8 minutes before the quartet was caught with three laps to go.

Then Belkin’s Frenchman Jonathan Hivert counterattacked with a group of 14 riders that stayed away until the final lap of the circuit, when Tanner made his move. The race ended in a 19-man bunch sprint, with Vanmarcke and Mollema taking 7th and 10th, respectively.
 

“It was a good race for us. We controlled the race all day. Really good job by Dennis to be in the breakaway right from the start, and by Jonathan to be in the next move,” said Belkin's Sports Director Michiel Elijzen. “And David had a nice attack on the last lap; we didn’t even know he won the KOM.” 

“Looking back, I probably should not have attacked,” Tanner added. “But we had Bauke and Sep up front concentrating on the sprint, so I wanted to try a sneaky move.”

The Belkin boys expect to be active again on Sunday at Canada’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.

“We’re happy with the result and with the way the guys rode,” Elijzen said. “We’re hoping to have another good day in Montréal.