Matthews wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal

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Under the watchful gaze of the winged Goddess of Liberty atop the George-Étienne Cartier Monument, Michael Matthews (Sunweb) found wings of his own to claim the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal, and in doing so take his second win of the week after triumphing in Quebec on Friday.

"I started my sprint way too early and I was a little bit worried that I wasn't going to get the win," Matthews said. "It was a super hard day out there and my team did an awesome job to keep all the breakaway together and give me an opportunity to sprint. I only just got these guys on the line and I'm super happy to win."

This time the Australian showcased an even more impressive sprint to surpass a despairing Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida) in the closing metres, while Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) finished third. In doing so, Matthews becomes the first rider since Simon Gerrans in 2014 to win both Canadian races in the same season, and just as with Gerrans four years ago, Matthews was as clinical as he was confident. Even though he started the sprint from fifth wheel in Montreal, and Colbrelli looked to have secured the win with a bold sprint from 150 metres out, the Sunweb rider found another gear to win by less than a bike length.

Matthews, who was overlooked for the Australian Worlds team, put in a near-flawless display but he had his team to thank after a number of dangerous moves scurried clear in the final few laps. Pre-race favouites Tim Wellens and Matej Mohoric both marshalled separate late attacks, while Colbrelli had the superior support in the final after Matthews' final supporting cast were burnt off towards the end of the race.

As the leaders turned the final corner with around 500 metres to go Michael Valgren (Astana) hit the front. Matthews was in fifth but kicked for home and moved to the far side of the road. It looked as though he had sprinted too soon, and had to correct his line when Colbrelli opened the throttle. Colbrelli hit the final 75m with the lead but Matthews' second kick was enough to take the win.

There was a poignant moment, too, when Simon Gerrrans - a rider who clashed with Matthews during their time together at Orica - put in a huge turn on the front of the race in the closing stages in a bid to set up Van Avermaet's chances. Gerrans would later peel off from the bunch and effectively end his WorldTour career before Matthews would win his second WorldTour level one-day race of his career. The torch has well and truly been passed from one Australian rider to another.

Familiar feeling

The race itself, with the climbs of Mont Royal, the Cote de Polytechnique and Claude-Champagne, saw an early break of five go clear inside the opening kilometres. Canadians once again dominated the early move, with Britain's Owain Doull (Team Sky) the only non-Canadian in a break made up of  home-grown talent Hugo Houle (Team Astana), Nigel Ellsay (Rally Cycling), Adam Roberge (Canada) and Charles-Etienne Chretien (Canada). The group built up a lead of over five minutes during the opening laps, before Team Sunweb, Lotto Soudal and BMC Racing set about organising a chase.

With blue skies, and perfect race conditions, the speed was relaxed, even when youngster Chretien was dropped from the break with 60km to go.

Bringing it back

Wellens' had his Lotto Soudal squad increase the pace inside the final 40km, while Houle began to struggle at the front. Wellens' move, with 34km to go, opened up the race, with several teams unwilling to carry Matthews and the other sprinters to the finish. The Belgian's attack on Mount Royal was quickly snuffed out before Mohoric went clear with far more purpose on the descent. The Bahrain Merida rider arrived in Canada full of confidence after back-to-back stage race wins in Europe, and he looked supreme - even when his compatriot, and the last man standing from the race's break in 2014, Jan Polanc, joined him with 29km to go. A second counter attack allowed Gregor Mühlberger to make contact with the two Slovenians, and the trio quickly overhauled the day's early break as Sunweb gave chase.

Gerrans' final act in a WorldTour race saw him draw the leaders back to 26 seconds as the race hit the final two laps before the Australian swung off and bowed out. He will apparently race the Japan Cup later in the year but this was an emphatically understated way for a rider of his calibre to exit the sport as he wheeled away, unwilling to take questions from the press.

Sam Oomen, a rider more accustomed to leading Tom Dumoulin up mountain passes, assumed control of the bunch with less than two laps remaining as Mohoric and his two breakaway companions held a 15-second lead.

The time is now

On the final ascent of Mount Royal the Sunweb team, with the help of Lotto, regained control but the parcours of this race always provides an opportunity to attack just after one move is nullified. This time James Knox, Jakob Fuglsang, and Wellens slipped clear with just under 10km to go.

Mohoric was now asked to defend rather than attack, and the Slovenian ushered his Bahrain Merida squad to the front in a bid to set up Colbrelli. On the penultimate climb the trio were reeled in, with Mohoric himself leading the bunch into the final stretch.

Then, with the sun starting to set on a crisp Canadian afternoon, Michael Matthews burst from the pack to claim his win. There may not be a Worlds selection for the Canberra kid this year but with the sun setting on Gerran's career - and most likely Mat Hayman - Matthews has now become Australia's most successful one-day rider in the peloton. What's more, he's done it in just the space of a few days.  

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