Van Avermaet followed the wheel of Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling) in the uphill sprint at the end of the 201.6-kilometre race that comprised 16 laps of a circuit.

But Sagan faded and Van Avermaet was not fast enough to catch the two riders ahead of him in registering his 12th podium result of the season. "I'm a little bit disappointed," Van Avermaet said. "I think I was close to winning. But I was waiting a bit for Sagan in the sprint. But he was also tired. Gesink did a really good sprint. I was a little bit too far back in the end. I'll have another chance in Montréal (Sunday), where I will try to do another good result and hopefully it will be first place." A year ago, Van Avermaet was runner-up in Québec to Simon Gerrans. This season, he has four wins to go along with five runner-up finishes and three third-place results.

Put three in one breakaway
Past the mid-point of the race, the BMC Racing Team put the peloton in a panic by placing three riders – Amaël Moinard, Steve Morabito and Tejay van Garderen – into what became a nine-rider breakaway that lasted nearly 35 kilometres. BMC Racing Team Assistant Director Jackson Stewart said the aggressive tactics were by design. "We didn't want Cannondale to be able to control it," he said. "We thought the wind would have been more of a tailwind down by the water. But it kind of ended up being in between. So it wasn't easy to stay off the front. We did exactly as we planned. It just didn't work out in the end." Cadel Evans was also in the top 15 for the BMC Racing Team, placing 12th, eight seconds back.