Rabobank's Robert Gesink emerged the victor in today's inaugural Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. The Dutchman attacked on the final ascent of the Camilien-Houde hill in the 193.6 kilometer event to hold off the field and secure his first ProTour victory ahead of Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Doimo) and local favorite Ryder Hesjedal.
After a nervous start, a group of five riders eventually formed the break of the day. The escapees included Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel), Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank), Alfredo Balloni (Lampre), Angel Madrazo (Caisse d’Epargne) and Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quick Step). Balloni hit the pavement in the second lap, which left four up front with HTC-Columbia's Adam Hansen in solo pursuit.
As the peloton brought Hansen back into the fold, Team Sky and RadioShack took over the front, and held the break in check. The gap remained a constant two minutes until the tenth lap, when Izagirre went on the attack. The quartet eventually regrouped, and it was two laps later that the race began to heat up from behind. RadioShack sent the duo of Chris Horner and Tiago Machado on the Cote de Camilien-Houde, and they were quickly joined by Daniel Oss (Liquigas), Franco Gavazzi (Lampre) and Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank).
The surge pulled the original breakaway back into the fold, with the day's leaders falling off the back of the peloton on the next ascent of Camilien-Houde. On the fourteenth of a total sixteen laps, Hesjedal tried to toughen up the race, but he was unable shake the likes of Edvald Boasson-Hagen (Team Sky), Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) or Gesink. On the penultimate ascent of the Camilien-Houde climb, Cyril Gautier (Bbox) made the bridge to Sorensen, Horner and Gavazzi, as Oss and Machado were dropped. The front group came back together to see Leipheimer attack on the last climb, only to be caught off his guard by a charging Gesink. The Dutchman was able to hold off the charging peloton for the win.