September 9, 2010 – The Restaurant La Terrasse in the Château Frontenac was the site of the Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) press conference held earlier today. Hesjedal is one of the favourites for Friday’s Quebec City ProTour and he shared his thoughts on the course, Garmin’s team strategy, and the pressure on him to podium…

What are your thoughts on being considered one of the favourites here in Quebec?
Ryder Hesjedal: It’s a huge honour at this level – it really has been a dream come true season, and all I can do now is cross my fingers for tomorrow.

Is there any extra pressure on you for these races, being in Canada?
RH: Honestly I find that right now I am truly the most relaxed in my career so far. After the Tour the rest of the season has just been a bonus.

Do you find a major difference in these two ProTour courses?
RH: They’re a lot harder than I thought (laughter). I have never raced them in any other aspects and just rode the Quebec City course for the first time yesterday. I like them and I’m very excited about tomorrow.

Are there any riders you’re watching/marking this weekend?
RH: Really, there are too many, and I wouldn’t want to leave any out! But to name a few, Sanchez, Fedrigo, Gesink are all riders with good form, and Team Radioshack has brought their best team possible outside of the Vuelta.

Does Garmin-Transitions have a team strategy for tomorrow?
RH: I think it’s really simple – look to get the best result. Everyone is on different levels of form, we will see how it plays out.

You must be excited about racing alongside a Canadian team of this depth. We couldn’t have done this five years ago.
RH: Yes I’m excited about riding with this many Canadian riders – they have been impressive and we will see more from them next year.

It must have been a tough choice missing the Vuelta, after your successes there last year?
RH: It wasn’t that tough, I knew it was a great opportunity to race here and it’s important to be at these races.

It must have been nice to take a break and go home to Victoria after the Tour.
RH: It was great, they threw a big party on Sept 4th for me, and it was nice to share with fans and family alike. As well I found myself watching the Mountain Bike Worlds and reflecting on that part of my life. It’s been twelve years since I was at Mont Ste-Anne participating. Being so close in time and proximity I thought about trying to ride them…but not really.

Any lessons learned from your second place at Amstel Gold in the spring?
RH: I don’t think I could have done anything different to beat [Phillipe] Gilbert that day. If I have those legs tomorrow it will be another good day!