In the crowded elevator to the post-race press conference at the Chateau Laurier Hotel, a fellow passenger congratulated Peter Sagan (Beulah Hansgrohe) on his performance.

"To what? Sagan was expressionless, but his frustration at not winning the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec was lightly tinged with regret." What can you do?"

Two weeks after the world championships and for only his second race since the Tour de France, the Slovakian was relieved to join the elite attacker group on the final lap and sprint for second place behind Michael Matthews (Sunweb) after being caught and

Sagan was the only rider in the top 10.

Sagan and Greg Van Avermaat (CCC Team) caught up to the acceleration of Julien Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) on the Côte de la Potasse with just over 2km to go, and soon Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) and Jack Hague (Mitchelton Scott) joined them.

This quintet had the pedigree to go the distance, but as is often the case in such situations, lacked sustained cooperation. But that buffer gradually melted away as Sagan, Alaphilippe, Van Avermaert, and Ulissi took over the lead one after the other. With 400 meters to go, they caught up. So it came to this.

"If we could have worked together a little better at the front today, we definitely would have made it [to the finish]," Sagan said. "There were four big names up front, and they were all thinking about how to beat the other guys. They didn't pull away and the peloton came back. But you know what? That's racing. How do you do it?' Are you alone or do you have this problem? That's the way it is."

Sagan's assessment was shared by Van Avermaat. He powered through again in the final 200 meters to hold off Ulissi and finish on the podium in third place. Olympic champion Van Avermaat was not at all surprised to see his momentum wane on the final climb to the finish line.

"When I was still away with 700m to go, I had a bit of a choice: run the full distance and not get a result, or wait for the peloton to come back. 'I put in a lot more effort than in previous years, which meant that my legs were filled with lactic acid and it was hard for me to get a result. In the end I had a good sprint and was happy to be on the podium." He said.

Alaphilippe, on the other hand, chose to start his sprint from a distance when his breakaway was caught, but his effort fell far short before the line and he had to settle for seventh place and the best climber award of the day.

Like Sagan and Van Avermaert, he showed little frustration as he waited behind the podium, accidentally getting doused with champagne while his Detunink-Quick Step teammate Remi Cabaña was celebrating his Vuelta a España stage win on Friday. He laughed hysterically when he saw the video.

Earlier this week, Alaphilippe told reporters that what he will achieve in the coming weeks is a "bonus" considering the year so far, but the intensity of his acceleration on the final lap in Quebec He suggested. [His attack was] really hard. His attack was really hard. I think I made a good decision today and I'm happy to be on the podium, even if it's not the win. I think my condition is there and that's almost the most important thing, to keep up with the riders on a course like this."

Over the past decade, the Quebec and Montreal GPs have established themselves as a training ground for the men aiming for the rainbow jersey. It feels like the World Championships," said eventual winner Matthews.

Matthews, Sagan, Van Avermaert, Alaphilippe, and the rest of the field will run their World Championship preliminaries in Montreal on Sunday. This year, two laps through the Parc Mont-Royal have been added to the course, with an elevation gain of 4,734 meters.

"I think it's super hard and I'm happy with the extra laps," said Van Avermaat, the winner three years ago. "Considering the World Championships, with the elevation gain, it's a really good test for us. I'm happy with today's result, but Sunday will be good training for the World Championships."