After a strong race in Quebec last Friday, where Benoot and Per Strand Hagenes rode to fourth and fifth place respectively, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's riders were traditionally presented with a very tough race in Montréal on Sunday to close the Canadian double. Seventeen times the local lap in Montréal had to be conquered, 4573 altimeters in total. The Dutch cycling team showed itself well at the front throughout the race, but had no answer when Pogacar went on the attack two laps from the end.

First, the strong Matteo Jorgenson tried to catch the Slovenian back. After an unsuccessful attempt, it was Bart Lemmen who tried to join the first pursuers. However, when the Slovenian's lead had become too big and the win was out of sight, they switched to a short classification. In the end, Benoot sprinted to seventh place in the remaining group, Jorgenson crossed the finish line in twelfth. Wilco Kelderman and Bart Lemmen also finished among the best twenty riders after more than five hours of racing. 

“I had to brake just before the sprint, otherwise I might have finished higher than seventh”, Benoot reflects. “We fought well as a team and had many riders in the final. A podium finish would have been nice, but as a team we certainly can’t be dissatisfied.” With a fourth place in Québec and a seventh place in Montréal, the Belgian achieved his best result in the Canadian double of his cycling career. “It's been two great races for me. That gives me a lot of confidence with the World Championships coming up.”

Sports director Frans Maassen also saw a strong Team Visma | Lease a Bike in Canada. “The goal for today was a podium finish and we worked hard for that. Jorgenson was certainly strong enough, but didn't get the space we were hoping for. I go home feeling satisfied. We colored both races, even though we did not win. We rode very strongly as a team here and competed for the victory twice.”