Description
September 17, 2026
Tour de Gatineau 2026 🇨🇦 (1.1) WE – Gatineau – Gatineau : 121,3 km
Tour de Gatineau is a UCI 1.1 one-day women’s road race through the rolling roads and hills around Gatineau,
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September 17, 2026
Tour de Gatineau 2026 🇨🇦 (1.1) WE – Gatineau – Gatineau : 121,3 km
Tour de Gatineau is a UCI 1.1 one-day women’s road race through the rolling roads and hills around Gatineau, combining open urban sections with wooded roads, short climbs and fast descents. The course typically covers around 120 km, with approximately 800–1,100 metres of elevation gain spread across numerous moderate rises rather than long mountain ascents. Gradients generally remain manageable, although sharper ramps can reach around 8–10% and create brief bursts of high intensity. Technical sections, roundabouts, narrow roads and frequent changes of direction make positioning important, particularly before climbs and on approaches to the finishing area. Open roads can also expose the peloton to crosswinds and changing weather conditions. The race can begin with attacks and breakaway attempts before the field settles into a controlled rhythm, while successive climbs gradually stretch the peloton. Faster descents and flatter sections provide opportunities for groups to regroup. The closing kilometres favor riders who can combine climbing ability with finishing speed, with a reduced-group sprint, late attack or small breakaway possible.
Steffi Häberlin (Switzerland) took the Tour de Gatineau victory on Thursday from a breakaway sprint. The Swiss Champion outsmarted and outsprinted Liv AlUla Jayco, who had three riders in the breakaway, beating Georgia Baker at the line while Ava Holmgren (Canada U23) took third on the day.
“[It means] a lot. It was the first international race I have ever won. I said to the girls that I won nationals, so far, and I’m really grateful they gave me this opportunity to race here with the federation and to have such a nice race with these girls,” Häberlin said.
“I said in the pre-race meeting that I would like to try to sprint if I got the opportunity. I tried sometimes in training and with teammates, and it was nice to try it in a race. [The uphill sprint] was better for me than if it was purely flat.”
Häberlin now heads to the World Championships in Montreal and said this race was part of the preparation. “We made a really good plan to be ready at Worlds, so with Marlen [Reusser], who couldn’t race today, and we did a camp to get to know each other, we learned a lot today as a team, and we can use that next week.”
After competing in the previous day’s Chrono de Gatineau, which Reusser won, many of the same riders lined up for the Tour de Gatineau, an 11-lap race in and around Gatineau Park totalling 121.3km.
The field included a mix of national and trade teams, and many riders were using the event to prepare for the upcoming UCI Road World Championships, which start this weekend in Montreal.
After 40km of racing, a breakaway cleared the field with Nadia Gontova (Liv AlUla Jayco), Olivia Barril (Canada), Ava Holmgren (Canada U23), Jasmin Liechti (Swiss Cycling), Megan Guarnier (CCB p/b Levine Law Group), and Tabea Huys (Tirol Women Cycling).
The five riders quickly built a 20-second lead with 85km remaining. But the peloton quickened the pace behind, and the gap never got more than 30 seconds.
As the gap lessened, the front group reshuffled to include Gontova and Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco), Isabella Holmgren (Canada U23), Ginia Caluori (NEXETIS), Liv Wenzel (Tirol Women Cycling), Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada) and Katherine Sarkisov (CCB p/b Levine Law Group).
Meanwhile, a group of four were distanced from the front and left to chase: Ava Holmgren, Elisa Luo (Canada), Steffi Häberlin (Switzerland), and Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco).
The two groups eventually reconnected with a healthy 2:18 lead on the chasing peloton with 24km remaining, and in the closing 10km still held nearly 1:30 as they exited the park and raced back toward the Gatineau finish.
The eleven riders carried speed into the finish and, with 3.7km to go, stayed together, as if accepting the race would come down to a sprint between them or wondering which one of them would take a chance with a late-race flier.
Gantova led the group for almost the entire last lap and then into the final stretch while her teammates Baker and Roseman-Gannon planned their finish. Häberlin took the lead through the final left-hand corner and started her sprint first over the small hill with several hundred metres to go, holding off Baker at the line.
Results :
 WE </strong> - Gatineau - Gatineau : 121,3 km
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Tour de Gatineau is a UCI 1.1 one-day women’s road race through the rolling roads and hills around Gatineau, combining open urban sections with wooded roads, short climbs and fast descents. The course typically covers around 120 km, with approximately 800–1,100 metres of elevation gain spread across numerous moderate rises rather than long mountain ascents. Gradients generally remain manageable, although sharper ramps can reach around 8–10% and create brief bursts of high intensity. Technical sections, roundabouts, narrow roads and frequent changes of direction make positioning important, particularly before climbs and on approaches to the finishing area. Open roads can also expose the peloton to crosswinds and changing weather conditions. The race can begin with attacks and breakaway attempts before the field settles into a controlled rhythm, while successive climbs gradually stretch the peloton. Faster descents and flatter sections provide opportunities for groups to regroup. The closing kilometres favor riders who can combine climbing ability with finishing speed, with a reduced-group sprint, late attack or small breakaway possible.
Steffi Häberlin (Switzerland) took the Tour de Gatineau victory on Thursday from a breakaway sprint. The Swiss Champion outsmarted and outsprinted Liv AlUla Jayco, who had three riders in the breakaway, beating Georgia Baker at the line while Ava Holmgren (Canada U23) took third on the day.
"[It means] a lot. It was the first international race I have ever won. I said to the girls that I won nationals, so far, and I'm really grateful they gave me this opportunity to race here with the federation and to have such a nice race with these girls," Häberlin said.
"I said in the pre-race meeting that I would like to try to sprint if I got the opportunity. I tried sometimes in training and with teammates, and it was nice to try it in a race. [The uphill sprint] was better for me than if it was purely flat."
Häberlin now heads to the World Championships in Montreal and said this race was part of the preparation. "We made a really good plan to be ready at Worlds, so with Marlen [Reusser], who couldn't race today, and we did a camp to get to know each other, we learned a lot today as a team, and we can use that next week."
After competing in the previous day's Chrono de Gatineau, which Reusser won, many of the same riders lined up for the Tour de Gatineau, an 11-lap race in and around Gatineau Park totalling 121.3km.
The field included a mix of national and trade teams, and many riders were using the event to prepare for the upcoming UCI Road World Championships, which start this weekend in Montreal.
After 40km of racing, a breakaway cleared the field with Nadia Gontova (Liv AlUla Jayco), Olivia Barril (Canada), Ava Holmgren (Canada U23), Jasmin Liechti (Swiss Cycling), Megan Guarnier (CCB p/b Levine Law Group), and Tabea Huys (Tirol Women Cycling).
The five riders quickly built a 20-second lead with 85km remaining. But the peloton quickened the pace behind, and the gap never got more than 30 seconds.
As the gap lessened, the front group reshuffled to include Gontova and Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco), Isabella Holmgren (Canada U23), Ginia Caluori (NEXETIS), Liv Wenzel (Tirol Women Cycling), Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada) and Katherine Sarkisov (CCB p/b Levine Law Group).
Meanwhile, a group of four were distanced from the front and left to chase: Ava Holmgren, Elisa Luo (Canada), Steffi Häberlin (Switzerland), and Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco).
The two groups eventually reconnected with a healthy 2:18 lead on the chasing peloton with 24km remaining, and in the closing 10km still held nearly 1:30 as they exited the park and raced back toward the Gatineau finish.
The eleven riders carried speed into the finish and, with 3.7km to go, stayed together, as if accepting the race would come down to a sprint between them or wondering which one of them would take a chance with a late-race flier.
Gantova led the group for almost the entire last lap and then into the final stretch while her teammates Baker and Roseman-Gannon planned their finish. Häberlin took the lead through the final left-hand corner and started her sprint first over the small hill with several hundred metres to go, holding off Baker at the line.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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