Matthews won the hilly and fast-paced 201km race, one of two Canadian UCI WorldTour events, ahead of Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), who in July won three stages and the points classification at the Tour de France.
Though the Québec circuit dishes up 2,976 meters of elevation gain, tackling four short climbs for a total of 16 laps, Matthews selected the CADEX 50 Ultra WheelSystem and CADEX Aero Integrated Handlebar for their aerodynamic advantages in what he knew would be a reduced bunch sprint. He also rode with his CADEX Amp saddle.
In the closing kilometers, pre-race favorites Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and defending champion Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) attacked at the base of the final 1km climb up Montée du Fort, but they were brought back. Matthews kept himself in prime position up the 4% average grade, and as the bunch swerved from the right side of the road to the left, he stayed right and timed his sprint to perfection. He launched it with 250 uphill meters remaining and beat Girmay to the line. Frenchman Rudy Molard finished third.
"I knew it was a hard day, so I guess no one really had a real kick left in their sprint," Matthews said. "So when the bunch all moved to the left, I saw an opportunity to open up my sprint on the right. And I guess no one had probably expected someone to go from that early. I knew I didn't have the peak power today, but I have a really long sprint, and I knew I had the power to do a 15- to 20-second sprint."
The victory marked the third time Matthews has won the GP Québec, following wins in 2018 and 2019. It was the sixth consecutive edition of the GP Québec to see Matthews standing on the podium, dating back to 2017.
“It means much more than I can put into words,” Matthews said. “The season started really great with the classics. Since then, until now, nothing has really fallen into place for me. Coming back here, a race that I know really well, to win my third Québec against what I think is probably the strongest field here was one of the most special for sure.”