Remco Evenepoel won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec this Friday, outsprinting Giulio Ciccone at the line. The double Olympic champion adds his name to the race’s roll of honour in just his second GPCQM appearance, and he’ll be the man to beat again Sunday at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.
Québec City, September 11, 2026 – He was the overwhelming favourite, and he delivered. Remco Evenepoel took the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec this Friday, edging out Giulio Ciccone in the sprint. The Belgian, whose Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe team stayed on the attack all day, launched the decisive move 27 kilometres from the finish.
The double 2024 Olympic champion broke clear alongside Italy’s Giulio Ciccone (Lidl–Trek) and Denmark’s Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility). A few kilometres later, on the Côte de la Montagne (800 m at an average 8.8% grade), he thinned the group again, shaking off the last survivors of the morning breakaway and riding clear for good with his two rivals.
His challengers, including Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), and Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG), watched the gap stall at around twenty seconds heading into the final lap, before giving up the chase with eight kilometres to go, despite one last push from American Quinn Simmons (Lidl–Trek) and Australia’s Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla).
Evenepoel Wins the Fastest Edition in Race History
Evenepoel dropped Charmig for good with one final attack on the last climb of the Côte de la Montagne, then never let up on Ciccone, doing all the work at the front over the closing kilometres. The 2022 world champion, who will chase a second road world title in Montréal on September 27, launched his sprint 150 metres from the line and held off his rival’s late charge.
In his first GPCQM start since 2019, Evenepoel picked up the 11th win of his season and the 40th for his team.
Along the way, he also claimed the fastest edition in the race’s history, completing the course at an average speed of 44.088 km/h.
The race also saw a long-range breakaway from American Samuel Boardman (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling), Latvian national champion Aivaras Mikutis (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), Germans Nikias Arndt (Bahrain Victorious) and Jonas Rutsch (Lotto Intermarché), Norway’s Storm Ingebrigtsen (Uno-X Mobility), and the Netherlands’ Frank Van den Broek (Team Picnic PostNL). The six riders went clear on the second of 20 ascents of the Côte de la Montagne and were caught with 60 kilometres to go by a chase group of about ten riders, including 2025 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec third-place finisher Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana Team). That group stayed clear for three more laps until Evenepoel’s decisive attack reeled it in.
The GPCQM continue Sunday with the 15th edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, where American Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates XRG) defends his title.
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
Quotes from the cyclists:
Remco Evenepoel (Belgium, Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe), winner of the 2026 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec: “I’m really happy to win the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. It’s a really unique race, and a tough one to manage. The team worked really well all day. I really had to work my way into the race—I wasn’t feeling my best in the middle part—but I found good legs toward the end. And I was strong enough to win it in the sprint.
I decided to be aggressive on this Québec City circuit. Once we got clear in the finale, we managed to open up a solid gap. I did most of the work at the front of the group, and that was hard to manage because I had to save some energy. I didn’t have the explosiveness on the final climb up the Côte de la Montagne to drop Ciccone. I decided to keep pushing on the climb anyway. The sprint against Ciccone was tough, but I believed in myself. He was in a strong position, on my wheel, with a teammate (Quinn Simmons, ed.) behind him. I was wary of the wind, but I knew I could beat him.
I’m feeling really confident heading into the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sunday. I’m happy to be back racing a month after my last race (a win at the Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, ed.). But I need to stay calm. There are still big goals for the end of the season, with the World Championships in Montréal. I need to take these Sundays one at a time.”
Giulio Ciccone (Italy, Lidl–Trek), runner-up at the 2026 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec: “It was a great day for the whole team. We were all strong. The goal was to always be up front, in the right place at the right time. In the end, I managed to follow Remco Evenepoel when he attacked 27 kilometres from the finish. I really suffered on his wheel. Credit to him—he did most of the work in the breakaway. This is my first time here, and I’m really happy to be on the podium, even though I obviously would have preferred the win. Now I’m looking forward to discovering the Montréal circuit on Sunday. We’ll see what I can do, because I’m feeling good.”
Anthon Charmig (Denmark, Uno-X Mobility), third at the 2026 Grand Prix de Québec:
“My plan was to wait for the race to settle down a bit later on so I could make my move. But when Evenepoel attacked with 3 laps to go, I decided to follow him. In the end, it played out a bit like last year, when Julian Alaphilippe won. I knew it would be hard to beat Remco. He was so strong. Lap after lap, it got harder and harder to stay on his wheel. I’m really happy to be on the podium at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. It’s a race I love a lot. This third-place finish confirms I’m feeling good this late in the season. There are still some great goals ahead.”
RESULTS
- Remco Evenepoel (Belgium, Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe), 206 km in 4:40:21 (average: 44,088 km/h)
- Giulio Ciccone (Italy, Lidl–Trek) s.t.
- Anthon Charmig (Denmark, Uno-X Mobility) at 15″
- Tom Pidcock (Great Britain, Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) at 28″
- Quinn Simmons (United States, Lidl–Trek) at 30″
- Michael Matthews (Australia, Team Jayco AlUla) at 35″
- Paul Lapeira (France, Decathlon CMA CGM Team) at 43″
- Matteo Jorgenson (United States, Team Visma | Lease a Bike) s.t.
- Alessandro Pinarello (Italy, NSN Cycling Team) at 45″
- Maximilian Schachmann (Germany, Soudal Quick-Step) at 47″
BY THE NUMBERS:
Remco Evenepoel is the third Belgian rider to win the Grand Prix de Québec. Philippe Gilbert took the race’s 2nd edition back in 2011, and Arnaud De Lie followed suit in 2023. Greg Van Avermaet, for his part, racked up six podium finishes over the years: runner-up in 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2018; third in 2013 and 2019. Jasper Stuyven also rounded out the podium in 2018.
