The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec is the first of the two Canadian one-day Classics held in mid-September offering riders and teams of the UCI WorldTour a less demanding alternative to the three-week long Vuelta a España as they look to peak for the UCI Road World Championships. The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal are the only UCI WorldTour races in North America and so play a key role in the globalisation of professional cycling.
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec is held on the Friday, with riders then travelling by train to nearby Montréal for the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on the Sunday. In 2015 the races will be held on September 11 and September 13.
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec covers 11 laps of a rolling circuit that visits the historical landmarks of one of the oldest cities in North America, including the Plains of Abraham battle site, the banks of the Fleuve Saint Laurent, the ancient Citadelle and the narrow streets of the old city. Each lap is 18.1km long for a total race distance close to 200km. The finish is positioned on the Grand Allée just after the Parliament building and is perfect for a UCI WorldTour finish. Positioning is vital in the final kilometres and then riders need to time their sprint on the rising road to perfection.
In 2014 Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) won in style after riding a tactically astute race. The Australian, who also went on to win the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal with a similar unbeatable surge, got the better of Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and Lithuania's Ramunas Navardauskas.