It wasn't the perfect return to racing for Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) at the Grand Prix de Québec, with the superstar Slovenian taking seventh and admitting he made a mistake by not attacking earlier in the finale once he'd got away with three Lotto Dstny riders, allowing the bunch to come back and take victory.
Pogačar tried to make a race-winning move 2.2km from the line with a trademark stinging attack, only for defending champion Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) and two of his domestiques to closely follow, shutting down his chance at solo glory.
He then had a decision to make, whether he bet on his own sprint or attack again on the dragging uphill gradients of the Grand Alleé Ouest. However, before he could make a decision, the 40-strong peloton was on his tail and made contact, with any hope of victory disappearing.
"It was a really good race, the team did a super good job, I wanted the hard final and we did it," said Pogačar after his first race since July 21.
"We managed to do a really hard last couple of laps but I was not sure of my last kilometre if I would attack or not, but I made the wrong decision, waited for the sprint and I was boxed in."
Pogačar and his UAE Team lit up much of the final 50km in Canada, with the reigning Giro d'Italia and Tour de France champion also revealing that while he was forced to settle for seventh in the sprint won by Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), he was happy with his shape.
"But I'm super happy to be back, the legs were turning good and I cannot wait for Sunday," said the Slovenian, with the GP Montréal suiting him better out of the two Canadian one-day WorldTour races.
"I was not expecting this good legs to be back so I'm super happy with the shape and how I managed the first race after a bit of a rest. So I think I'm ready for Sunday and World Championships now."
With the World Championships in Zürich edging close by the day, Pogačar is not only here to try and win but also to refind some of that race rhythm before going up against the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel in pursuit of a maiden rainbow jersey.
And it was perhaps the rhythm that he lacked in the final, admitting that he thought he and the Lotto Dstny trio could stay away, only to be met with a rude awakening when Matthews and the rest rejoined them and sprinted away to victory.
"For sure, that's why I did not go for a longer attack because I looked back and there was still a gap with 1km to go," said Pogačar when asked if he thought his group were going to survive to the line. "Three guys from Lotto, I was thinking we would make it to the finish but the group was coming from behind really fast and I should have launched it before."
But he was quick to move on from missing out, simply relishing the opportunity to race again after over 50 days without pinning on a race number.
"Maybe I could stay away but it is what it is, it was really fun racing and I enjoyed it a lot," Pogačar concluded.
