Quebec: UAE Team Emirates’ Diego Ulissi returns to Canada, the stage of his last one-day race win for the Grand Prix of Quebec and Montreal on Friday and Sunday, September 7 and 9.
Ulissi won Montreal last year, his second one-day victory in UAE colours, and will be hoping for a repeat performance.
Joining Ulissi will be Alexander Kristoff, Rui Costa, Alexandr Riabushenko, Manuele Mori, Marco Marcato and Jan Polanc.
Ulissi said: “Quebec and Montreal are two races that I particularly like. They are classics that are similar to the world championships. Among the two, I like Montreal because it’s a little harder than Quebec and it’s more open to attackers.
“I had a fever a few days ago so I am not heading into the races in the best shape, but let’s see how my body will respond under force. I hope I can defend the title I won last year in Montreal.”
UAE Team Emirates’ sports director Simone Pedrazzini added: “We have different tactics that we can take advantage of. Kristoff can sprint, Costa and Ulissi can try to force some moves. In the first race in Quebec, it seems like a given that it could be a sprint, in Montreal the attacks could decide things, like what happened in the past with Ulissi. We are well equipped for the races and we are going to try to take advantage of the various options on offer.”
