Slovak star Sagan takes second straight Quebec race ahead of Avermaet
QUEBEC — Peter Sagan won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec for a second year in a row and claimed his 100th career race victory in a tight final sprint on Friday.
Sagan, the Slovak leader of the Bora team, finished the 201.6-kilometre race — 16 laps of a hilly 12.6-kilometre circuit — ahead of BMC Racing’s Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium and Sunweb rider Michael Matthews of Australia at the front of a 35-man sprint.
Top Canadian Guillaume Boivin of Montreal finished in the lead group, who were all timed at five hours 31 seconds (5:00:31). Boivin rides for the Israel Cycling Academy, an Israel-based pro team. Bruno Langlois of Matane, Que., led Team Canada in 52nd place at 5:00:48.
The 27-year-old Sagan, the reigning world champion, is chasing leader and 2016 Olympic champion Van Avermaet for top spot in this year’s UCI world rankings.