Two days after its third place in the Grand Prix de Québec, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux competed in the Grand Prix de Montréal on eighteen hilly laps through the centre of the metropole.
Frenchman Théo Delacroix represented the World Team in the front during a major part of the race, liberating his teammates from work in pursuit of this leading group.
The selection was made at the back of the peloton during this challenging race, skimming the peloton to a group of around thirty riders including Sven Erik Bystrøm and Georg Zimmermann.
The two man battled for a top ten until the end, behind five attackers. In the end, Zimmermann took fourteenth place after six hours of racing and Bystrøm finished 21st.
« Biniam Girmay didn’t feel good today, so we had to adapt our strategy during the race. The race was so hard that in the end it was just all about saving as much energy for the final lap. I attacked twice in the last 5 kilometer aiming for a top ten. With my second attempt I managed to stay in front of the peloton and to obtain fourteenth place. I’m happy with this result, knowing that only a couple of days ago I felt weak because of illness. My form is coming back quickly so that’s a good sign for the world championships. »
