After the tough GP de Québec last Friday, where Wout van Aert and Benoot just missed out on a top ten spot, Sunday’s race in Montréal turned into a true battle of attrition. It even became the fastest edition ever. Over the course of seventeen local laps in the Canadian city, the riders faced more than 4,500 meters of climbing. Early on, Jørgen Nordhagen launched an attack. However, due to the response from the favorites, the Norwegian and his fourteen breakaway companions were unable to build up a big lead.

With the pace extremely high, several Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders were forced to abandon early. Benoot, almost always strong in the Canadian doubleheader, delivered another solid performance. The 31-year-old rider had no answer to an attack by teammates Tadej Pogacar and McNulty, among others, but the Belgian did not give up. Battling for fourth place, a crash deep into the finale spoiled his chances. Slightly battered, he crossed the line more than two minutes behind winner McNulty in seventh place. Nordhagen eventually finished 33rd and was crowned the best U23 rider in the race.

Benoot looks back on the race with satisfaction. “I have never had such a good day in Montréal in my career. We raced extremely fast today, much faster than last year’s edition. We were fighting for fourth place with four riders, but I couldn’t avoid a crash in the final local lap, so I fell too.”

“In the end I finish seventh, which is a bit of a pity because I really had great legs today. I felt a top-five was possible. That makes the crash unfortunate, although the damage seems limited. I’m very satisfied with this performance - I was right up there with the best riders in the race”, the Belgian concludes.