Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, October 7, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
There are good days and there are bad days, and this is one of them. - Lawrence Welk
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Current racing:
- October 7: Coppa Bernocchi
Upcoming racing:
- October 8: Tre Valli Varesine
- October 10: Gran Piemonte
- October 12: Il Lombardia
Latest completed racing:
- Sept 29 - Oct 6: Le Tour de Langkawi
- October 6: Paris-Tours
- October 6: Coppa Agostoni-Giro delle Brianze
- October 5: Giro dell'Emilia
- October 3: Sparkassen Münsterland Giro
- October 1: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- September 22 - 29: World Road Cycling Championships
- September 18 - 22: Tour de Luxembourg
- September 21: Super 8 Classic
- September 20: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- September 18: GP de Wallonie
- September 15: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
- September 15: Trofeo Matteotti
- September 14: Memorial Marco Pantani
- September 13: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
- September 12: Coppa Sabatini
We posted the report from the race organizer with the results.
Here's the report from winner Christophe Laporte's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Christophe Laporte has claimed victory in the heroic 118th edition of Paris-Tours. The French rider from Team Visma | Lease a Bike outsmarted fellow escapee Mathias Vacek in a sprint after more than 200 kilometers. Edoardo Affini spent the entire day in the breakaway.
Early in the race, Affini broke away from the peloton with three other riders. The quartet gained a lead of only a few minutes at most, as several teams in the peloton were keen on keeping the race under control.
The race fully ignited when Mads Pedersen launched an attack around 70 kilometers from the finish. Only Affini could follow as the Danish rider bridged the gap to the breakaway. The duo led the race for a while, but were eventually overtaken by Laporte and Vacek. The Frenchman and the Czech worked well together, keeping the peloton at bay. In the final sprint, Laporte proved to be the stronger rider, comfortably winning in the finishing straight. After a grueling mud-filled race, the former European champion secured his first victory of the season. For his team, Visma | Lease a Bike, it marked their 32nd win of the year.
Christophe Laporte wins a big one.
"This victory means a lot to me," were Laporte’s first words after crossing the finish line. "I’m incredibly happy. It’s been a long time since my last win, back at the European Championships in 2023. The bronze medal at the Paris Olympics was fantastic, of course, but I was still missing the sweet taste of victory in 2024. I was highly motivated to perform well here. I’ve ended my season in the best possible way.”
The Frenchman further elaborated on the key moments of the race. "Pedersen went very early. I was feeling good, but it was a tough and demanding race. That’s why I decided to hold back for a while. Several teams were controlling the race. In the end, Vacek and I made a significant effort to catch up with Pedersen and Edoardo. Vacek and I cooperated well, and that’s why we managed to stay ahead of the peloton and contest the sprint. I trusted my sprint and waited patiently, and it paid off. This is a great way to end the season. The conditions were epic, which brought tension in the peloton, especially in the beginning and on the first gravel sections. It was a long, tough, but above all, a beautiful day," Laporte concluded.
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Here's the Paris-Tours report from second-place Mathias Vacek's Lidl-Trek team:
Lidl-Trek were out in force at a very wet edition of Paris-Tours. Mads Pedersen threw down an early challenge, jumping clear of the peloton and powering his way across to the breakaway with 68km remaining. Behind in the peloton, Lidl-Trek had strong numbers and were able to shut down several attacks, whilst Pedersen forged ahead with Affini sat on his wheel.
When Christope Laporte made his move 33km from the finish line, Mathias Vacek was quick to join him. Both riders had a teammate up the road, and before long were able to join them at the head of the race. After giving his last bit of energy to propel the breakaway, Pedersen dropped back, with Vacek and Laporte able to hold off the chasers to the finish. The Czech rider lead out the sprint, but had to settle for second place behind Laporte.
Laporte & Vacek on their break.
“We rode so well as a team today,” said Vacek at the finish line. We did a good leadout before the first sector and Mads had good legs so he tried to attack. He went away alone and caught the group of Affini. Laporte attacked on one of the climbs and I went with him. We managed to catch Mads and Affini. We were able to work together a bit, but Mads was already on the limit. I could go with Laporte and we could work together pretty well. In the end he had a btter sprint, I could not do much better today. Congrats to Chris, I’m really satisfied with how it went today.
“Again second, I have a little step to make to win, but for now I’m taking the second places. Of course I’m a bit disappointed, but we are getting there, and I have big confidence for the next season also.”
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Here's the Paris-Tours report from Patrick Eddy's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:
In epic weather conditions, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL lined up for Paris-Tours today. It was a controlled race with a breakaway on the road, but the action kicked off when the group was caught and the race entered the final. Over the hills and through the muddy gravel sections, it came down to an elimination race, with attacks at the front and riders dropping off at the back. Patrick Eddy showed decent bike handling skills and strong legs, making it into the reduced bunch that sprinted for the final podium spot after two attackers made it to the finish. Eddy couldn’t find the right wheel for the sprint and finished just outside the top 20.
Paris-Tours about to start
Eddy said: “Today was a very wet and muddy edition of Paris-Tours. The boys did well to enter the first sector in a reasonable position, and from there, it was mostly on legs and a bit of luck. We lost a couple of the boys to punctures and eventually, it was just Emils and I in the main front bunch. Emils had to let the wheels go over the last climb, and I rode the final solo. I was a bit indecisive about which wheel I wanted to follow and got boxed in the last 500 metres. It was nice to be at the pointy end of a semi-classic, but a bit annoyed at myself with how I rode the final.”
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We posted the report from winner Marc Hirschi's UAE Team Emriates with the results.
Here's the report from second-place Romain Grégoire's Team Groupama-FDJ:
In Lissone this Sunday, Romain Grégoire came close to his second victory of the season. After a very lively race on the Coppa Agostoni, on which he really made an impact together with his teammates, the young Frenchman eventually took second place in a four-man sprint, only beaten by Marc Hirschi. He therefore scored his fifth podium of the season, and he will back on Tuesday in the Tre Valli Varesine.
Romain Grégoire was close, as this picture attests. Sirotti photo
An “up-and-down” day was on the cards this Sunday in Lombardy all around Lissone. Out of the 168 kilometres on the riders’ menu, only the first twenty and the last thirty did not include any climb. The rest of the course was a hilly circuit to be repeated four times, with the consecutive climbs of Sirtori (1.5 km at 5.6%), Colle Brianza (3.7 km at 6.3%) and Lissolo (2 km at 6.6%). “We expected a very fast and nervous race from the start,” Romain Grégoire introduced. “The whole team took the race from the right end, and when I saw a big move of around twenty riders go, I didn’t hesitate much to go with it.”
“First there was a small breakaway with Rémy, then a big chasing group went with Romain and Lorenzo,” Thierry Bricaud added. “Almost all the strong men were up there, except Marc Hirschi.” At the front, the Groupama-FDJ riders therefore tried to make the most of it. “It was an ideal situation for us, because we got a step ahead of UAE Team Emirates, and they were the ones I feared the most this morning,” Romain continued. “Collectively, it was very good. We took responsibility, especially with Lorenzo who pulled a large part of the time at the head of the group to try to keep that lead. It’s really the way I like to race, when the guys are there, around me at the front, and when we take things in hand. It really gives me confidence, and an extra boost for the final.”
The gap between this first group and the “peloton” constantly fluctuated between thirty seconds and one minute, but another race started when Marc Hirschi bridged across on the penultimate lap of the circuit. “On a route like this, the legs do the talking, and Hirschi managed to make the jump in the middle of the race,” said Romain. Around thirty men eventually tackled the last lap in the lead, and Rémy Rochas immediately attacked with four riders.
“The goal was to always be one step ahead in order to fight for the win, to have someone in front so as not to chase behind, and also to have a satellite rider for Romain if it came back,” said Thierry. “That’s what happened, the guys showed great motivation.” On the penultimate climb of the day, Marc Hirschi made a first attack, only three men were able to catch his wheel, including Romain Grégoire, but the whole group actually got back together before the very last climb. Right from the bottom, the Swiss rider went for it again, and the Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ managed to follow once again. The same four riders then broke away, with Paul Lapeira and Alex Aranburu. “We knew that Romain would be up there if it came down to the legs,” Thierry said. The leading group crossed the summit about twenty seconds ahead of the rest of the competition, and even briefly reduced to three men.
After he was distanced on the last slopes, Aranburu nevertheless managed to come back on the descent, and the four riders then started a thirty-kilometres fight with the chasing group. Their advantage initially exceeded a minute, but then dropped back to only twenty seconds. “The four of them are fast, and that’s why they looked a bit at each other,” Thierry explained. “That allowed the counterattack to come back very close. We had to stay calm, and Romain was. The problem is that the last 35 kilometres didn’t include any climb. Lapeira also had two teammates behind and was using it not to pull too much. Aranburu had shown his limits, so he wasn’t collaborating too much either. Hirschi and Romain really wanted it to go all the way. They had no interest in the chasing group to come back, and they also knew they were strong, so they worked a bit more.” “I didn’t want to be caught, but I also had confidence in my sprint,” added Romain. “With Hirschi being the major favourite, I hoped that the others would let him make the effort if I attacked. I accelerated a few times, but if someone was chasing me straight away, I would stop immediately because I still wanted to secure a good result at the finish.”
The Groupama-FDJ rider briefly tried on a slight uphill section at eight kilometers, then on the flat with five kilometres to go, but Marc Hirschi never let him the slightest gap. Alex Aranburu tried to go solo in the last three kilometres, but the quartet finally came together for a reduced sprint.
“I think I played it well in the sprint”, said Romain. “Aranburu went from very far, then Lapeira also went, and I took Hirschi’s wheel at 400-500m. I just had to get past him, but the legs decided, and he was just a bit stronger”. On the line, the 21-year-old therefore secured second place. “I think I can be happy with it; I think I did a good race”, he concluded. “I don’t have any regret, even if I’m obviously disappointed to come second because I was there to win.” “It’s an important result for him,” added Thierry. “We know that he’s moved up a gear again this season, but that doesn’t really translate into the results, as he hasn’t won much. Even if it’s not a victory, it’s still a nice second place. There’s still the Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday and Il Lombardia after that. The goal is to get a win before going on holiday.”
Here's the team's update:
Once again starting and finishing in Legnano, Coppa Bernocchi will mark our team’s first outing of next week in Italy, where we are also scheduled to race the Tre Valli Varesine and Il Lombardia, which will bring to a conclusion our European season. As has happened in the past, the parcours is built around the hilly circuit in Valle Olona, where the peloton will tackle the Caramamma climb – also known as the Piccolo Stelvio (1.5km, 6.6%) – a total of seven times.
Three years ago, after spending the entire day in the break, Remco Evenepoel attacked from the distance, dropped his companions and soloed to what was at that time his first victory in a one-day race on Italian soil. Recently crowned ITT World Champion for the second year in a row, a success that came just six weeks after the took a pair of gold medals at the Olympics in Paris, the 24-year-old Belgian will be in action on Monday, together with Mattia Cattaneo, Antoine Huby, Fausto Masnada, Andrea Raccagni, Pepijn Reinderink and Mauri Vansevenant.
Remco Evenepoel at the start of the Giro dell'Emilia on Oct 5. Sirotti photo
“In the past three seasons, we won twice and racked up a total of four podium finishes in Bernocchi, so it goes without saying this is a race we like a lot and where we hope to be again in contention for a good result, on what will be a demanding and quite selective parcours. Things didn’t go as planned for us in Emilia, but that’s cycling, and this only motivates us even more for Monday”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Davide Bramati.
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