Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar, the reigning Giro d'Italia and Tour de France champion, won the Montreal Grand Prix on 15 September, his last race before the last major event of the season, the World Championships in Zurich.

The UAE Team Emirates rider left his rivals in the dust on the climb of the penultimate lap of the 18-lap race in and around Montreal.

He crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious) to bag his 22nd victory of the year and his first since taking the Tour de France title in July.

The race was largely dictated by an early breakaway of three riders: Michael Leonard, Gil Gelders, and Dries De Bondt, who were ahead from the start.

But then Pogačar attacked in the penultimate lap, surging on the 1.8-km-long Camilien-Houde climb.

Like many riders, Pogačar, who skipped the Olympics, is using Canadian races as prepare for the World Championships.

On Friday, he finished seventh in the Quebec Grand Prix. He entered what was his first race since the Tourt as a clear favourite but admitted to making a tactical error.

Along with the Vuelta winner Primož Roglič, Pogačar will co-lead a seven-member Slovenian team at the World Championships, held from September 21-29 in Zurich. He will compete only in the road race there.