Izagirre shines in Montréal

Ion Izagirre showed flashes of his pedigree for hilly one-day races by powering to an eighth place finish in the GR Montréal on Sunday.

The talented puncheur formed part of the select group that formed in the closing stages of the second of the two Canadian WorldTour races, joining the likes of eventual winner Peter Sagan, Ryder Hesjedal, Rui Costa and Greg Van Avermaet in the race's deciding move.

No one was able to go with "The Hulk" when he turned on the turbo, but the youngest of the Izagirres stayed with the group behind the lone Cannondale rider as they sprinted for fourth behind late escapees Simone Ponzi and the aforementioned Hesjedal.

Eventually Izagirre had to make do with ninth, while his team-mates Miguel Mínguez, Peio Bilbao and Romain Sicard all came in with the main chase group at 26 seconds.

Results:

• (1, Peter Sagan (Cannondale), 5:20:07)
• 9, Ion Izagirre, 0:09
• 36, Miguel Mínguez, 0:26
• 38, Peio Bilbao, s.t.
• 43, Romain Sicard, s.t.
• 63, Adrián Sáez, 4:25
• 75, Gorka Izagirre, 6:25
• DNF: Rubén Pérez, Ricardo García