EUROTRASH Monday: Van der Poel Misses the Amstel Froth!

All the excitement of the men’s and women’s Amstel Gold Race, plus results, reports, rider quotes and video from the final two stages of the Giro d’Abruzzo, the Classic Grand Besançon Doubs and the Tour du Jura Cycliste.

Tom Boonen sees a unique opportunity for Mathieu van der Poel this spring – TOP STORY.

Rider news: Jasper Philipsen might be staying with Alpecin-Deceuninck, Jonas Vingegaard’s parents have not been able to speak to him since the crash, Wout van Aert has to miss the Giro d’Italia, Christophe Laporte will replace him, Biniam Girmay returns to Giro d’Italia, Julian Alaphilippe raced with a broken knee, Arnaud De Lie will return in the Famenne-Ardenne Classic and Taco van der Hoorn out for a year due to concussion.

Team news: Patrick Lefevere had a crisis meeting on lack of performance in the Classics, Bjerg and Wellens extend with UAE Team Emirates, Lidl-Trek not signing Demi Vollering and Bianchi’s statement on Sénéchal declarations after Paris-Roubaix.

Race news: Records and legends on the course of La Vuelta Femenina’24, Flèche Wallonne women: Vollering in pursuit of the double, Flèche Wallonne men: The wall of truth and Tro Bro Leon: Roaring forties…in decreasing order.

Plus: INEOS Grenadiers off-script: Paris-Roubaix video.

Monday EUROTRASH coffee time.

 

TOP STORY: Tom Boonen Sees a Unique Opportunity for Mathieu van der Poel this Spring
Mathieu van der Poel has already won three of the five cycling monuments: Milan-San Remo, de Ronde van Vlaanderen (three times) and Paris-Roubaix (twice). Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardia are yet to be added to his palmarès, but Tom Boonen sees a unique opportunity to win La Doyenne this year.

Boonen said this on the Cycling Club Wattage podcast. The four regular guests; Boonen, Jan Bakelants, Dirk Dewolf and Mark Uytterhoeven, were presented with a dilemma regarding Mathieu van der Poel: Win the five monuments or improve the record number of victories in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix?

“I would go for the strive for five,” said Tom Boonen. “Mathieu has not raced much this year. And I think he’s in the best shape of his life. Moreover, we are in an exceptional year for Van der Poel. Many opponents will not be present in Liège,” Boonen refers to last year’s winner, Remco Evenepoel, not starting Liège due to his crash.

“The circumstances that are now in front of him will probably never return,” Boonen said. “If Mathieu should ever be able to win Liège, it will have to be now. And why wouldn’t he give it a try to win those five monuments? Couldn’t he do that too? He must first start with Liège and see what that gives.”

Boonen has advice for Van der Poel:

 

Amstel Gold Race 2024
Tom Pidcock made up for his Amstel Gold Race loss in 2021 to Wout van Aert by the smallest of margins. The INEOS Grenadiers rider crossed to the winning break and then won the sprint from Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) and Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike). Top favourite, World champion, Mathieu van der Poel was trapped in the bunch to finish 22nd.

The route is more or less the same as last year, although there is one change. From this year, the Amstel Gold will not start from the Vrijthof, but from the Maastricht Market. The race has been starting from the capital of Limburg since 1998, but since 2019 the riders were presented on the Vrijthof. From this year, the presentation will return to the Market. After the start, the riders head north to Sittard and will have the first obstacle of the day, the Maasberg, a short cobbled climb. The Adsteeg, Bergseweg and Korenweg come later. There is no Cauberg in the early part of the race, as there was before 2023. The famous climb in Valkenburg will be climbed twice instead of three times. The first passage is after 172 kilometres. Between kilometres 95 and 130 there are some longer climbs, including the Camerig, which is one of the longest climbs in South Limburg and the Netherlands, and the one to the Drielandenpunt in Vaals. Then the tough Gulperberg from Gulpen, the climb where Mathieu van der Poel attacked in 2019, on the way to his victory. After the first passage at the finish in Berg en Terblijt, just after the first climb of the Cauberg there are 80 kilometres to go. The real finale starts with just over 40 kilometres to go with the Gulperberg, now from Gulpen. From the descent on the other side from Gulpen, the riders then go via the Geuzeweg and Cappucijnenweg on narrow, twisting roads to the foot of the Kruisberg. Immediately afterwards there is the Eyserbosweg, after which the Fromberg and the very steep Keutenberg come very quickly. After the Cauberg has been climbed for the second and final time, the final lap starts 16 kilometres before the finish. The Geulhemmerberg and Bemelerberg, which had to be climbed earlier, could be the deciders. The top of the Bemelerberg is 7 kilometres from the finish. Once at the summit, the riders turn left towards Terblijt. Via the Rijnsbergweg to the Sibberweg, where the riders will pass under red flag of the last kilometre. The finish line is on the Rijksweg.

The Amstel Gold Race, the Netherland’s biggest bike race, has had some big winners in the past: Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. The World champion was the only one of those three present and was the top favourite for victory. But it wouldn’t be easy as he was up against Tom Pidcock, Ben Healy, Benoît Cosnefroy, Mattias Skjelmose and Matteo Jorgenson.

There were a lot of riders who wanted to be in the early break, but the first attackers were unsuccessful. Eventually four riders managed to take a lead: Tosh Van der Sande (Visma | Lease a Bike), Enzo Leijnse (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Alexander Hajek (BORA-Hansgrohe) and Zeb Kyffin (Tour de Tietema-Unibet). These four leaders worked well together, but on the way to the third climb of the day, the Bergseweg, the news of a serious accident involving a police officer in the women’s race came through and the organisers had to change the course of the men’s race. The Bergseweg had to be removed from the route. The race now went to the Korenweg via a detour. Van der Sande, Leijnse, Hajek and Kyffin managed to increase their lead to nearly 5 minutes. Five minutes was the maximum lead of the four, who were caught just after the Geulhemmerberg, 70 kilometres from the finish. There had already been a lot of action in the peloton. On the first passage of the Cauberg the pace had lifted, but the race stayed together. On the Keerderberg and Bemelerberg, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step) tried to split the race. Vervaeke tried several times and eventually on his third attempt, he escaped with Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) and Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R). These three were given some space, but they only had 30 seconds on the run-up to the Gulperberg. On the short, tough climb, the World champion, Van der Poel, wanted to test his legs, but he didn’t persevere with his effort.

After Van der Poel’s semi-attack, the pace slowed again in the peloton and the three leaders took a few more seconds. Vervaeke, Honoré and Lapeira had the Kruisberg, Eyserbosweg and Fromberg still to come and the peloton were not far behind. It was a dangerous moment for the favourites and so Alpecin-Deceuninck took the lead in the peloton. On the Kruisberg there was no attacks and then on the Eyserbosweg, Richard Carapaz put in an attack. The Olympic champion’s move was closed down, but there were others to take his place. Marc Hirschi attacked and was joined by Roger Adrià, Valentin Madouas and Bauke Mollema. The differences were still small after the Fromberg and in the run-up to the Keutenberg. Honoré and Lapeira, Vervaeke had been dropped, were still ahead of the pack with 30 kilometres to go. Before the Keutenberg, everything looked to come together again, but Benoot and Pidcock jumped to the group of chasers with Mollema, Mauri Vansevenant, Madouas and Hirschi. Van der Poel was in the peloton and didn’t, or couldn’t make a move.

The World champion was in a tricky situation as the other favourites; Pidcock and Benoot had a 30 second lead at the start of the Keutenberg. Benoot pushed hard on the climb, but everything came together on the windy climb. On the plateau above the Keutenberg, Van der Poel was isolated without any teammates at 30 seconds. The top favourite would need help from other teams, but this was unlikely. The 12 off the front were in a good situation and so started to work well together. Benoot, Pidcock, Hirschi, Honoré, Vansevenant, Adrià, Mollema, Lapeira, Vauquelin, Madouas, Quentin, Pacher and Pello Bilbao took more time on the chasers. With 20 kilometres to go, the lead was already almost 1 minute. In the peloton; Jayco-AlUla and Alpecin-Deceuninck tried to chase. The difference in the run-up to the last climb of the Cauberg was still closable. Skjelmose decided to attack on the climb, but the Danish champion was unable to make the crossing. An expected counter from Van der Poel didn’t happen, although the World champion was staying near the front, this caused the chase to slow. This suited the break, but Honoré had now been dropped.

Due to the Dane losing his pace in the break, EF Education-EasyPost had no one at the front and they had to chase in the Van der Poel group. The co-operation in the break had disappeared. Benoot, Pidcock, Hirschi and Vansevenant had the strongest legs and broke away from the others after the Geulhemmerberg. This looked like the winning four. The four leaders were riding away from the first chasers, while the Van der Poel group, still led by EF Education-EasyPost, was still at 30 seconds. On the Bemelerberg, the final climb of the day, Lapeira put in a do-or-die attack. The Frenchman looked like he might catch the four leaders, but Pidcock put the pressure on. On the Bemelerberg, the INEOS rider accelerated. Benoot and Hirschi were in trouble, but fought their way back. Vansevenant also managed to return as the four approached the last kilometre. Benoot couldn’t hold back and was the first to jump, but this came to nothing. Pidcock was the fastest finisher in the lead group and held Hirschi and Benoot off to the line.

# See more photos in the full PEZ ‘Race Report’ HERE. #

Race winner, Thomas Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers): “It feels really good. This year has been so tough, at the start of the year making big sacrifices being away from home so much. So now to finally put it together and get my hands in the air it means a lot. This is a race I’ve always loved racing – it’s pretty special. Today the team were fully behind me. Kwiato is going really well but he fully committed to me. To be able to repay them is really special. My hand after Roubaix meant this week I was struggling to sprint. So I was not so confident, but that was just how it was going to end up. I knew that this was going to be the front group, and whether more guys came across I don’t know. But I knew that this was already the final [group] here. I think everyone was looking at each other at this point in the race. I put in one attack and people followed, then another one and Tiesj (Benoot) and someone else was with us. We were the last guys to go across to the front. It’s not always about legs at this point. Now the pressure is off we can just go and race and do our best – dare I say enjoy [Flèche and Liège]!”

2nd, Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates): “I’m super happy to be back at the front of the big big races. I felt really good all day and was in the right position to make a move. The goal was to anticipate any attack by Mathieu. I got away in the winning group and felt good so went on the attack again. I’m happy with second but obviously to come so close to the win I’m also a bit disappointed.”

3rd, Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike): “I was of course third in this race once and I would have preferred to do a little better. It was difficult to surprise my fellow escapees in the final, as the pursuers were still very close . With four riders it is in any case difficult to surprise. I think I still have a reasonably good sprint. I stayed next to Pidcock for quite a while, but in the end I was a bit too tall. On the Bemelerberg I hoped that Hirschi would close the gap on Pidcock, but that didn’t happen. In the final kilometre I saw that Tom was looking at Marc and I tried again. Mauri (Vansevenant) rode alone behind me and then it was difficult to get away. That is of course his right to race like that. I probably would have done the same. I already had a feeling in training last week. My injuries are recovering better and better. There is clearly still something left in the tank for this spring and I showed that today.”

4th, Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step): “Amstel is always a surprising race, and this time was no different. We did a good job as a team and had a plan, which was being in the important moves that came in the final part. Louis was the first to attack, then I went and the group I was in was very strong and rode well together, which helped us open a good gap. In the final 20 kilometres I went all-out, giving everything out there. When I crossed the line, I was quite disappointed, because I would have liked to be on the podium, but afterwards I watched the replay and saw that if I don’t start my sprint from the distance, then they catch us, so in the end it was the right thing to do, especially as I had to make a decision fast. A podium would have made me very happy, but fourth remains a good and really surprising result that makes me proud. Today will give us a lot of confidence going forward, I am sure of that.”

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “It was a difficult race. I didn’t feel great, but I was okay. My plan was to cross the Keutenberg with the best riders, but they rode away in the intermediate section. That’s a bit of a shame, but overall we did well. It was of course a difficult situation. You then have to make some choices. When I jump, the other riders immediately jump on my wheel. I certainly didn’t have the legs I had in recent weeks, but it was fun to ride the Amstel Gold Race again. This is also a different type of race. Things may be a little more tactical here between the climbs. They (the organisers) did that well. The team has done a good job, but we may be short of one guy to jump with. But again: we did well. I still feel like having a blast (in Liège), although Tadej Pogačar will of course also participate. It is now important to rest well this week, and then hopefully have one more blast.”

Michał Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers): “It felt like we had everything under control from the start, but we exposed ourselves and we were losing numbers. The boys did an amazing job for pretty much the entire race. Then in the last 60-70km to go, we had the feeling that we had to play around with Tom on our own. Cam (Wurf) rode from pretty much kilometre zero. We took responsibility, but still with the headwind, the entire race had people coming from the back. It was hard to accelerate and keep the group much smaller. I think Tom was always in the right place at the right time which was our main objective – to keep our leader out of trouble. That’s why he could finish like this. He had really good legs I suppose and it’s finally the victory which he deserved already. Chapeau to him – he managed to win Amstel Gold, which is a massive result if you think about it, doing back to back races such as Roubaix and Amstel.”

Amstel Gold Race Result:
1. Thomas Pidcock (GB) INEOS Grenadiers in 5:58:17
2. Marc Hirschi (Sui) UAE Team Emirates
3. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Visma | Lease a Bike
4. Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
5. Paul Lapeira (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
6. Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Lidl-Trek
8. Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
9. Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain-Victorious
10. Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 0:11.

Amstel’24

 

Amstel Gold Race Women 2024
Marianne Vos won the women’s 2024 Amstel Gold Race after it had to be shortened. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider looked like she would finish second place in a close sprint with Lorena Wiebes, but as SD Worx-Protime rider celebrated, Vos passed her with a last minute jump.

The 10th Women’s Amstel Gold Race was, as every year, a twisting, turning, descending and climbing test for the riders. All of the top women were at the start in Maastricht, with last year’s winner, Demi Vollering, World champion Lotte Kopecky, Elisa Longo Borghini and Dutch riders, Marianne Vos and Shirin van Anrooij.

Several riders tried to escape in the first part of the race, but no one could get away. The first to get a significant gap was Anne Knijnenburg. Her lead was never over 30 seconds and before the Adsteeg, she was caught. Next it was her teammate, Quinty Schoens, who attacked. She was with the Canadian Clara Emond, when after 40 kilometres of racing, the organiser had to neutralise the race, due to a serious accident with a police officer ahead of the race. After a delay of more than an hour, the peloton started to move, but it had to ride neutralised from the Bergseweg to Valkenburg, to the start of the circuit. The race started again to race over three circuits (55 kilometres) with the Cauberg (0.8km at 6.6%), Geulhemmerberg (0.7km at 6.6%) and Bemelerberg (1km at 4.4%).

The first time up the Cauberg and the peloton was split by Longo Borgini. The Italian champion attacked on the steepest part. Five riders went with her: Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Else Chabbey, Amber Kraak, Anna Henderson and Demi Vollering. Almost all the major teams represented in this lead group. The break seemed to have a chance of success, but the co-operation was not good. Coming onto the Geulhemmerberg, the six were caught. The next attack came from Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), Ricarda Bauernfeind (Canyon//SRAM) and Eva van Agt (Visma | Lease a Bike). Their lead went up to 1 minute. Anouska Koster counter-attacked, but the Uno-X Mobility rider couldn’t close the gap.

Koster was at 15 seconds, but lost time on the way to the Cauberg. Kastelijn, Bauernfeind and Van Agt had over 1 minute at the start of the climb. Longo Borghini attacked for a second time. The Italian thinned out the group, but was unable to get away. Longo Borghini’s attack brought the peloton a lot closer to escape, who started the last lap of about 18 kilometres with a lead of 30 seconds. The three front riders worked well together, while behind it was EF Education-Cannondale who did all the chasing without any help. The difference grew to 1 minute with 8 kilometres to go.

A lead of 1 minute looked too much to close in the kilometres to the finish. Van Agt tried to drop the others on the penultimate climb, the Bemelerberg. Bauernfeind was able to follow while Kastelijn struggled, but managed to hang on. Due to the work of Lidl-Trek and Lotte Kopecky, the lead came down. At the foot of the Cauberg the lead was only 15 seconds and then they were caught. There were some attacks from Longo Borghini and others, but no rider was able to make a difference, so there was going to be a bunch sprint. Vollering kept the pace high in the final straight for top favourite Wiebes. Longo Borghini opened the sprint, but Wiebes came past her. The former European champion looked to have the victory and started celebrate, but too early. Vos kept pushing and her lunge for the line gave her, her second Amstel Gold Race win.

Race winner, Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike): “An unbelievable victory, it still has to sink in if I’m honest. A lot happened in this race. Obviously I am very happy with the victory, but I sympathise with Lorena. I’ve been through a similar situation myself. Today I gave everything until the line and that was enough for the win. I felt I had more speed than the competition, but it was still a bit uncertain after the finish line whether it would be enough. Fortunately, it turned out to be. That discharge was wonderful. I’m very happy with the win.”

2nd, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “I felt really good today. The team did a lot of work. In the last kilometre and a half Demi Vollering stopped all attacks perfectly to keep it all together for me. When I started my sprint, Elisa Longo-Borghini suddenly deviated to the left. There was almost no room left next to the fences, but I found a gap and dove in. My focus remained on Elisa Longo-Borghini so that’s why I didn’t look left. I didn’t feel Marianne Vos coming either. That I miss out on the Amstel Gold Race in such a stupid way is very hard. But it’s my own fault. I feel stupid. Because this is such a beautiful race to win and my teammates did perfect preparation work. I’m extremely bummed. This will make me sleep badly for two or three nights. This is a hard lesson. Fortunately, my teammates were there for me after the finish. Demi Vollering immediately said, ‘this will make you even hungrier’. This is a race I would really like to have on my record. Hopefully I can take revenge next year.”

Amstel Gold Race Women Result:
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike in 2:35:02
2. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime
3. Ingvild Gåskjenn (Nor) Liv AlUla Jayco
4. Pfeiffer Georgi (GB) dsm-firmenich PostNL
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek
6. Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
7. Ashleigh Moolman (SA) AG Insurance-Soudal
8. Amber Kraak (Ned) FDJ-SUEZ
9. Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck
10. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Canyon//SRAM.

Amstel’24

 

Giro d’Abruzzo 2024
Alexey Lutsenko won the Queen Stage 3 of the Giro d’Abruzzo on Thursday. The Kazakh had to fight off a gang of UAE Team Emirates riders on the final climb to Prati di Tivo, but he came out on top at the finish. Diego Ulissi was second and Adam Yates third. Lutsenko also took the leader’s jersey from Jan Christen.

The 163 kilometre stage finished at Prati di Tivo (14km at 7%), a climb used in Tirreno-Adriatico. Jan Christen of UAE Emirates started the day as the leader, but Alexey Lutsenko and Adam Yates were within 30 seconds. In short, anything could happen in this mountain stage.

There was a lot of climbing early in the stage. The peloton was led by UAE Team Emirates behind an early break of six: Marco Tizza (Bingoal WB), Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Manuel Peñalver (Polti Kometa), Matteo Malucelli (JCL Team UKYO), Dennis Lock and Tomasso Nencini (Zalf Euromobil Fior), they gained a maximum lead of 3:30. On the penultimate climb of the day, the Croce Abbio (8km at 4.7%), the leading group was thinned out. Tizza, Fiorelli and Lock held out. Although Lock was dropped on the descent, but it was nearly over for Tizza and Fiorelli. Before the Prati di Tivo, the peloton caught them. In the first kilometres of the climb, Astana Qazaqstan came to the front to thin out the peloton. Twelve kilometres from the summit, UAE Team Emirates took control again and things really started to warm up. After Pablo Torres had done his work, there was only 9 riders left. Including four riders from UAE: Christen, Yates, Diego Ulissi and Pavel Sivakov. They were joined by Lutsenko, George Bennett (Israel-Premier Tech), Paul Double (Polti Kometa), Yannis Voisard and Marco Brenner (Tudor). Due to Ulissi’s high pace, Yates had to pass 7 kilometres from the finish. A kilometre later, Sivakov attacked. Lutsenko and Voisard reacted, after which Yates and Bennett came back. Yates then attacked, but he didn’t get away. Sivakov’s next attack had more impact. However, Lutsenko had Yates and Voisard on his wheel, managed to close the gap.

It was Yates’ turn again. With an acceleration he managed to break Voisard, while Sivakov was also in trouble. Lutsenko was able to catch them. The pace slowed a bit, allowing Sivakov to rejoin. The Frenchman took the lead until Yates gave it another go. Once again Lutsenko had an answer. The two looked at each other and Diego Ulissi was able to return. The Italian then took the lead and so there would be a sprint finish. Lutsenko went early and crossed the line first by a wide margin. He took 2 seconds on the UAE Team Emirates duo. Ulissi, who had been on the front for the final kilometre, came second. Yates finished third. Lutsenko is also the leader on the GC. He has a 14 second lead over Yates. Voisard, who finished 4th on the stage, rose to 3rd place at 37 seconds behind the leader.

Stage winner and overall leader, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan): “Final climb was very hard, Adam (Yates) tried to drop me several times but I was always there and did some attacks as well. In the last two kilometres when Diego (Ulissi) joined, I can say that I did my 100% to win. It is a super good result, after a difficult start of the season I am very glad with today’s victory. That’s an important one.”

3rd on the stage and 2nd overall, Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates): “Obviously we would have liked to take the win today after the team did so much work, but I think Lutsenko was just the strongest out there today. It’s my first race back and I’m not yet at my best level so it’s just a matter of building back up to where I want to be. The team is riding really strong so we’ll try and do something tomorrow to take the win.”

Maglia Bianca, 8th on the stage and overall, Marco Brenner (Tudor): “I’m happy with my racing today whereas yesterday, I missed out on the first split because I was behind. I felt good legs today. I tried to stay as long as possible with Yannis [Voisard] and we did a super good job. He was in the front and I wasn’t very far behind. It was enough to climb up in the general standings and take the Maglia Bianca. It’s a successful day. It’s I think the first I was able to race at the front in a big climb like this. I hope tomorrow goes well, it would mean a successful start of the season.”

7th on the stage and overall, Paul Double (Polti Kometa): “In the final ascent I inevitably spent a lot to stay behind the best riders and in the last kilometre I ran out of gas, but I’m extremely happy with the performance of the entire team!”

Break rider, Manuel Peñalver (Polti Kometa): “I’m happy to have put into practice the plans we made this morning on the bus, tomorrow we have one last day full of ups-and-downs until L’Aquila and we want to finish this Giro d’Abruzzo on a high note!”

Giro d’Abruzzo Stage 3 Result:
1. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan in 4:16:20
2. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates at 0:02
3. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates
4. Yannis Voisard (Sui) Tudor at 0:21
5. George Bennett (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech
6. Pavel Sivakov (Fra) UAE Team Emirates at 0:24
7. Paul Double (GB) Polti Kometa at 0:35
8. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 0:48
9. Giovanni Carboni (Ita) JCL Team UKYO at 1:55
10. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè at 2:08.

Giro d’Abruzzo Overall After Stage 3:
1. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan in 12:00:11
2. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 0:14
3. Yannis Voisard (Sui) Tudor at 0:37
4. George Bennett (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech
5. Diego Ulissi UAE Team Emirates at 0:38
6. Pavel Sivakov (Fra) UAE Team Emirates at 0:40
7. Paul Double (GB) Polti Kometa at 0:51
8. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 1:30
9. Giovanni Carboni (Ita) JCL Team UKYO at 2:11
10. Jan Christen (Sui) UAE Team Emirates at 2:19.

Abruzzo’24 stage 3:

 

Alexey Lutsenko had no problems in the Final Stage 4 of the Giro d’Abruzzo on Friday. The Kazakh rider of Astana Qazaqstan finished with a lead group of three, securing the overall victory. Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates) won the stage.

From the start in Montorio al Vomano, the road either went up or down on uncategorised climbs, until at 90 kilometres there was the Forca di Penne (Cat.1). Then there was still the Castel del Monte (14.2km at 4.5%) before the downhill to the finish in L’Aquila.

It took more than 20 kilometres before the break of the day formed with: Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech), Adrien Maire (TdT-Unibet), Sébastien Reichenbach (Tudor), Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani) and Simone Raccani (Zalf Euromobil Fior). Jan Christen (UAE Emirates), 10th overall, joined them soon after. Luksenko’s Astana Qazaqstan team never let the leaders take more than 1:30. When they hit the climbs, the break was pulled in. Behind; Astana Qazaqstan and Israel-Premier Tech were working to thin out the peloton.

2.5 kilometres from the top, only George Bennett (Israel-Premier Tech), Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates) and overall leader, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) were left at the front. Again, top favourite Adam Yates had missed the move. This was an ideal situation for Lutsenko, because Bennett and Sivakov were more than 30 seconds down on him overall. These three were together in final, with a lead of around 1:30. They worked well together until the last 10 kilometres. Bennett was the first to try an attack, 7 kilometres from the finish, but he couldn’t get away. Sivakov tried again four times on the climb, but Lutsenko covered all the attacks. Bennett also pulled Sivakov back a couple of times, which was good for Lutsenko. The three sprinted in L’Aquila. Bennett went for a long effort, which led-out Sivakov for the win. Lutsenko didn’t contest the sprint as he was happy with the overall victory.

Stage winner and 2nd on the stage, Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates): “When I went, I didn’t expect we’d go away. It was not a super steep climb, but once Lutsenko started pulling, then we hit a downhill and the gap went up to 1:30. At one point, I realised it would be complicated for the group behind to come back, so I saved energy and I had the legs to win the stage. I tried to attack a few times and saved legs for the last moment. I launched the sprint really late, as it was a long straight uphill. This is a race to build my season, but I see that every race you go to, it’s super hard to win. This is good for my confidence. I had to delay my preparation but in the last couple of weeks, I felt super good for my season, my biggest goal is to support Tadej [Pogačar] to win the Tour de France.”

Final overall winner and 3rd on the stage, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan): “Everything went as planned. Yesterday we took a victory at the toughest stage and today we needed to control the race, in the beginning we did not let the gap of the first breakaway grow, it was a minute, maximum a minute and a half. The guys worked for 100% today, it’s especially pleasant to acknowledge that we also had young riders from the development team who had a proper race, and who competed at the same level with other more experienced riders. With 50 kilometres before the finish I joined the attacking riders in order to also control the situation and protect our leader’s jersey. We achieved our goal, everyone is happy,”

Maglia Bianca and 8th overall, Marco Brenner (Tudor): “As expected, it was a really hard day. A breakaway went and we were not in, so we had to chase. In the end, Yannis [Voisard] was fifth on the stage and overall, I’m eighth. We can be happy. That’s the best we could do. The team is happy with what we did. For me, being the best young rider is really special, it’s the first time I win a jersey and the level was very high on the final climb yesterday. I’m glad I was consistent enough to achieve this. It gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.”

7th overall, Paul Double (Polti Kometa): “I really like racing in Italy and today we finalised a rather solid week. On a tough day, with many big names up there, I managed to stay where I needed to be and I’d say I can be happy about it.”

Giro d’Abruzzo Stage 4 Result:
1. Pavel Sivakov (Fra) UAE Team Emirates in 4:13:13
2. George Bennett (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:01
3. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan
4. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates at 0:39
5. Yannis Voisard (Sui) Tudor
6. Adrien Maire (Fra) TDT-Unibet
7. Giovanni Carboni (Ita) JCL Team UKYO
8. Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) Team MBH Bank Colpack Ballan
9. Valerio Conti (Ita) Corratec-Vini Fantini
10. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè.

Giro d’Abruzzo Final Overall Result:
1. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan at 16:13:20
2. Pavel Sivakov (Fra) UAE Team Emirates at 0:31
3. George Bennett (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:34
4. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 1:02
5. Yannis Voisard (Sui) Tudor at 1:20
6. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates at 1:21
7. Paul Double (GB) Polti Kometa at 1:39
8. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 2:18
9. Giovanni Carboni (Ita) JCL Team UKYO at 2:54
10. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè at 3:07.

Abruzzo’24 stage 4:

 

Classic Grand Besançon Doubs 2024
Lenny Martinez won the Classic Grand Besançon Doubs on Friday. The young climber hold off Monegasque Victor Langellotti, for the win. Teammate David Gaudu took third place.

The 4th Classic Grand Besançon Doubswas had a good start-list, with four French WorldTeams and strong ProTeams. It was a hard course between Besançon and Montfaucon of 171.3 kilometres, with the climb of the Antenne Montfaucon (4.2km at 7.2%) near the finish.

Enekoitz Azparren (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Alan Jousseaume (TotalEnergies), Adne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), Maël Guégan (CIC U Nantes Atlantique), Théo Delacroix (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93) and Jérémy Leveau (Van Rysel-Roubaix) made up the break of the day and they had a KOM to race for. Groupama-FDJ and Decathlon-AG2R kept the six leaders at just under a maximum of 8 minutes. After about 60 kilometres, the chase got underway, but the break wasn’t hanging about.

Fifty kilometres from the finish, Azparren, Guégan and Levau were dropped. Jousseaume, Holter and Delacroix still had 2 minutes with 20 kilometres to go. Lotto Dstny and Burgos-BH started to work in the peloton. On the final climb of Antenne Montfaucon, Holter went solo. With a 1 minute lead, he didn’t stand a chance of winning. Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) attacked with 3 kilometres to go and caught and passed Holter. The other favourites couldn’t follow Martinez. Behind Martinez, the other Groupama-FDJ leader, David Gaudu, was keeping his powder dry. He countered the moves of the other favourites, to protect Martinez, who had a lead of 30 seconds. When Monegasque rider, Victor Langellotti (Burgos-BH) attacked, Gaudu couldn’t follow. Langellotti crossed to Martinez, who had lost some momentum. Martinez tried, but was unable to drop Langellotti. In the last 300 metres, Martinez had enough left to win the sprint.

Race winner, Lenny Martínez (Groupama): “I already thought I was going to win, but I saw a runner coming, he surprised me and scared me a little, and I thought: no, I can’t be second. He passed me and attacked. I held on to his wheel; It was a maximum lactic effort and I told myself: I can’t let myself fall. I only thought about winning. Unlike last year, I was the one who managed to escape in the corner before the line. It’s a nice revenge. It was a maximum effort in the end. I gave it my all and I’m very happy to have finished with the victory. It is a very nice victory because this is where I did all my exercises last year with La Conti. “It is incredible to win here and I am very happy to bring the victory to the team today.”

2nd, Victor Langellotti (Burgos-BH): “The first part of the race was quite calm, until kilometre 90, where the most technical, narrow and hilly route began. From this point we started going quite fast and I didn’t have a good feeling. I passed all the difficulties of the day well and, about 20 kilometres from the finish line, all my teammates placed me in a good position in the group, facing the last climb. The sensations still did not improve, but cycling is a mental sport. Sometimes you have to suffer, since in the end everything can change and you have a good day, like today. On the last climb I felt better and I was in a group of a dozen cyclists, all very tired. I waited for the final kilometre, which I knew was quite hard. I started with the intention of finishing second, since I did not expect to catch up with Martínez. Then I tried my best to try to let him go, but he was too strong and I couldn’t do it. I am happy, I have given everything and I couldn’t ask for more. Thanks to all colleagues for the work done.”

Classic Grand Besançon Doubs Result:
1. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ in 4:09:57
2. Victor Langellotti (Mon) Burgos-BH at 0:04
3. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:11
4. Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Dstny at 0:20
5. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at 0:26
6. Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA at 0:29
7. Ewen Costiou (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 0:31
8. Clément Berthet (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
9. Sylvain Moniquet (Bel) Lotto Dstny
10. Jordan Jegat (Fra) TotalEnergies.

Classic Grand Besançon Doubs’24:

 

Tour du Jura Cycliste 2024
David Gaudu won the Tour de Jura on Saturday. The Frenchman of Groupama-FDJ has not won a race since the 2022 Critérium du Dauphiné. On the final climb of the day, Mont Poupet, he was the best in a group of favourites.

The day after the Classic Grand Besançon Doubs was the Tour du Jura, a one-day race of 174 kilometres, from Domblans to Mont Poupet (Salin-les-Bains). There were four climbs, the last two in the finale: The Côte de Thésy (3.6km at 9.1%) and the final climb, Mont Poupet (4.1km at 8.2%).

The favourites would come form the four French WorldTeams: Decathlon-AG2R, Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ. It took over 30 kilometres before a break could take any time on the peloton. Kévin Ledanois & Louis Rouland (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), James Fouché (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech), Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies), Adne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), Martin Marcellusi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Gwen Leclainche (Philippe Wagner/Bazin), Kenny Molly & Maximilien Juillard (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Matys Grisel (Lotto Dstny), Jonathan Couanon and Damien Girard (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur) and Vinzent Dorn (Bike Aid) managed to form an escape. Dorn, Girard, Cauanan and Grisel were dropped and the ten remaining riders had a battle to hold off the peloton, with a lead that was never more 3 minutes. Thirty-six kilometre from the finish the real race began on the Côte de Thésy. The break soon fell apart, mostly due to Marco Frigo. Adne Holter couldn’t hold on, but he fought his way back to Frigo later. Together they started the last 25 kilometres. The peloton were not taking it easy. First Groupama-FDJ and later Cofidis used the climb to thin out the peloton. While top favourite, Lenny Martinez, sat on the back of the peloton, Jesus Herrada counter-attacked to cross to the two leaders, who had a lead of just over 1 minute. Herrada never made it and was caught on the run-up to the final climb.

At the start of the four kilometre climb, Frigo and Holter were still leading by 40 seconds. On the first steep sections, Frigo went solo. Behind him, Cofidis lifted the pace, putting Lenny Martinez into trouble. It was his Groupama-FDJ teammate, David Gaudu, who made the move at the front. His attack caused a lot of damage, but the Frenchman eased off and many riders were able to return. Gaudu went again, but again he couldn’t get away completely. Felix Gall followed his wheel and then went himself. The Austrian rode away from Gaudu, after which Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) crossed to him. Guillaume Martin was also able to connect, while Gaudu, Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto Dstny) were not far behind. It all came together, but Martin put in an attack soon after. Just before the final kilometre, on a slightly flat section, Gaudu and Cepeda returned to the Cofidis climber. When the road started to climb steeply again, Gaudu launched yet another attack. This time he got free. He opened a nice gap and soloed to victory. Behind the Groupama-FDJ rider, Jordan Jegat sprinted to second place. Martin was third.

Race winner, David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ): “It’s been a long time since I raised my arms, this victory means a lot. I’ve been struggling pretty much all the time for almost a year now. But now the wheel seems to be turning for me and for the team, so it’s really great. Our next objective is to be in good shape for the Ardennes. We’ll have a good group there and we’ll be going there with confidence. I’m really looking forward to the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège and then the Tour de Romandie. After that, we’ll have time to think about the Tour de France.”

Tour du Jura Cycliste Result:
1. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ in 4:15:28
2. Jordan Jegat (Fra) TotalEnergies at 0:04
3. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis
4. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
5. Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Dstny
6. Victor Langellotti (Mon) Burgos-BH at 0:10
7. Clément Berthet (Bel) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
8. Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
9. Cristián Rodríguez (Spa) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at0:17
10. José Manuel Díaz (Spa) Burgos-BH at 0:34.

Jura’24:

 

Jasper Philipsen Looks like he Might be Staying with Alpecin-Deceuninck
Jasper Philipsen is one of the top men at Alpecin-Deceuninck, but it is not known if he will be racing for the team in 2025. Philipsen is in his final year of his contract and there is interest from quite a few teams. Although Philipsen doesn’t plan of moving.

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, Philipsen and Alpecin-Deceuninck are close to a deal. The Belgian team want to retain the 26-year-old sprinter. His manager told the Belgian newspaper that the decision will be made within a month.

GCN previously wrote that Philipsen would like to sign a contract for the next four seasons and BORA-hansgrohe, UAE Team Emirates, Tudor and his current team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, are all interested. According to GCN, one of the reasons that Philipsen wants to commit to a team until the end of 2028 is that the World championships are in Abu Dhabi that year and he would have a chance of winning as a sprinter. As a World champion he could sign a bigger contract.

“I told Alex (Carrera, his manager) that the next four or five years will be my top years,” Philipsen said to Het Laatste Nieuws. “I hope to find a team where I can get the best out of myself. That could also be in my current team. All options are open. I will look at the full picture and then decide.”

Where will Philipsen be next year?

 

Vingegaard’s Parents have Not Been Able to Speak to Him Since the Crash
Jonas Vingegaard was one of the worst injured on the fourth stage of the Tour of the Basque Country. After the crash, the Dane was taken to hospital with multiple broken bones, a lung contusion and a collapsed lung. Vingegaard’s parents are worried as they have not spoken to him a week after the crash.

Claus Vingegaard, Jonas’s father, gives an interview to the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet a week after the crash. “It’s really hell for us,” he said. “A week after his fall, my wife and I still haven’t heard from Jonas. We just didn’t get the chance yet. Not with Jonas, but also not with his wife and Visma | Lease a Bike. I don’t know how that is possible, but it has to be that way, right?”

Vingegaard senior has no update on his son’s physical condition. “We really only know what we read in the media. It’s not that we don’t want to visit him in Spain, but at the moment I don’t think we should. We are currently only receiving minor updates.”

Vingegaard was operated on his collapsed lung on Monday, four days after his crash in the Tour of the Basque Country. The Spanish newspaper Marca reported. Visma | Lease a Bike announced that Vingegaard also had surgery on his collarbone.

The two-time Tour winner was still in the Intensive Care Unit of the Txagorritxu hospital in Vitoria, Basque Country, a few days ago. His wife Trine Hansen, who traveled to the Basque Country immediately after the accident, is with him. It is unclear whether he has now been moved to a normal hospital ward.

Up Date: Jonas Vingegaard Still in Spanish Hospital, Plan for Medical Transfer
Jonas Vingegaard must remain in the Txagorritxu hospital of Vitoria Gasteiz in Spain for the time being. The Danish two-time Tour winner is not yet allowed to fly due to the collapsed lung he suffered in the Tour of the Basque Country crash. Ten days after his fall, Vingegaard is still in hospital, according to the Spanish newspaper AS. Vingegaard is in the intensive care unit and is not allowed to fly due to his collapsed lung. According to AS, an offer has now been made to fly him and his wife back to Denmark by medical transfer, although there is no clarity about this yet.

How is Jonas?

 

Wout van Aert has to Miss the Giro d’Italia, Christophe Laporte Will Replace Him
Wout van Aert will not start the 2024 Giro d’Italia. The Belgian made the announcement in a video message on Visma | Lease a Bike social media. Christophe Laporte will be his replacement in the Italian Grand Tour.

Van Aert crashed hard in Dwars door Vlaanderen. He broke his collarbone, sternum and several ribs, which meant he couldn’t ride the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The Giro d’Italia, his second major goal of this season, has also now had to be missed.

Van Aert started the video with good news. “I’m very happy to tell you that things are going well. I am recovering from all my injuries after my fall in Dwars door Vlaanderen. A lot of injuries are pretty good at the moment, but my ribs are still a limiting factor. I can’t train at all at the moment. I’m trying to make my first pedal strokes on the bike again, but it’s not enough to really train.”

Van Aert added: “That is why we have decided not to start in the Giro d’Italia. It’s a shame. I’m very disappointed that I also have to miss my second big goal of the season. But right now I have to put my health first. I have to give my body time to recover.”

Van Aert won’t ride the Giro:

 

Biniam Girmay Returns to Giro d’Italia: “Unfinished business”
Two years after his first appearance, Biniam Girmay will return to the Giro d’Italia this year. His Intermarché-Wanty team confirmed that the Eritrean is part of their Giro selection.

Girmay made his debut in the Giro in 2022, the year he won Gent-Wevelgem. In the first ten stages, he was in the top 10 six times. Girmay won stage 10, out-sprinting Mathieu van der Poel, but his Giro was over soon after, when a champagne cork hit him in the eye on the podium.

“There was a feeling of unfinished business after his first participation, as Biniam was unable to defend his chances until the end of the round. He is very motivated to return to an important goal. This edition again offers many opportunities for his type of rider. I’m thinking of stages with a difficult finale that could still result in a group sprint,” said performance manager Aike Visbeek.

“That is why we decided to send Biniam to the Giro. In his first big tour of the season we hope that he continues the trend of the first months of the season. Biniam was already competitive in Australia and in the spring classics. In the run-up to the Giro, he follows the same preparation as two years ago, with a training camp at his home in Asmara.”

Girmay to the Giro:

 

Julian Alaphilippe Raced with a Broken Knee
Julian Alaphilippe raced for part of the spring with a fracture in his fibula head (knee), he told Le Parisien. The Frenchman said nothing about his injury when he was racing because he didn’t want people to think that he was making excuses for his disappointing performance.

Alaphilippe suffered the fracture in his left fibula (the upper part of the fibula) in a crash during Strade Bianche. “I didn’t want to say it because I didn’t want people to think I was making excuses,” said the Soudal Quick-Step rider. “I suffered a lot from my crash in Strade Bianche. Moreover, my morale was damaged, because I had good legs before and because it is a race that I really enjoy. This crash was a big blow to me. And I had pain in my left knee.”

In the races that followed, Alaphillipe was always in pain. He realised that something was wrong and took action after Milano-Sanremo, where he finished 9th. “Together with the medical team, we decided to conduct investigations. The tests showed that there was a fracture in the head of the fibula. This explained why the pain wouldn’t go away. It was very annoying, but not something unbearable. That’s why the doctors told me before the Flemish classics that the choice whether to race or not was up to me.”

Alaphilippe decided to race anyway. “Because I was super motivated and found it difficult, after all the work I had put in, not to start. I should have told myself, shit, take time to recover, get over it and don’t fight the pain. But this mistake has already been made. I can’t go back and have to accept it.”

After Milano-Sanremo, Alaphilippe rode the E3 Saxo Classic, where he finished 49th, Dwars door Vlaanderen, 26th, and the Tour of Flanders, 70th. Now he is taking a rest. Looking back on his spring, he thinks he should have done that earlier. “I should have taken a break after the Italian races and then gone for the Ardennes classics,” he said.

Alaphilippe racing with a broken knee:

 

Arnaud De Lie Will Return in the Famenne-Ardenne Classic
Arnaud De Lie will resume racing at the end of this month. On April 28 he will be at the start of the Famenne-Ardenne Classic, a home race for De Lie. His trainer, Gaëtan Bille, confirmed it to Het Nieuwsblad.

De Lie ended his spring early after Gent-Wevelgem, after it was discovered that he had Lyme disease. At that time he had been struggling with his form for several weeks. “After new medical tests, which showed that the traces of the disease are fading, he was given the green light on Thursday,” Gaëtan Bill told Het Nieuwsblad. “The disease has different stages. In Arnaud’s case, he was discovered in time and the treatment worked. So he will come to the Famenne-Ardenne Classic in acceptable shape. It won’t be optimal, but he doesn’t need many kilometres to get back to a good level.”

De Lie won the Famenne-Ardenne Classic last year, which was held in October. He crossed the line pedalling with only one leg after he broke his shoe plate in the sprint. After the Famenne-Ardenne Classic, De Lie will ride the Grand Prix du Morbihan and the Tro Bro Léon, both race in Brittany. He was second in the Tro Bro Léon last year and won the Grand Prix du Morbihan. The rest of De Lie’s program is yet to be decided. It was originally planned that he would ride his first Tour de France this year.

One leg win for De Lie:

 

Taco van der Hoorn Out for a Year Due to Concussion
Taco van der Hoorn has not been able to race for more than a year. The Dutchman of Intermarché-Wanty suffered concussion in a crash in the 2023 Tour of Flanders and that injury is still keeping him from racing. “Every now and then I doubt whether it will all work out,” he said to Sporza.

“I have been trying to return for a year and follow the doctors’ advice. If you are still not completely healthy, it is frustrating,” said the 30-year-old rider. “It also hurts that I still can’t race, which is what I love to do.”

Van der Hoorn is now back on his bike, but if he rides for too long, he feels ‘a kind of brain fog’ afterwards. He then has difficulty concentrating and subsequently gets a long-lasting headache. He can ride for about an hour and a half at a time. “But you can’t call it training yet. Rather, it is a bike ride. Of course, racing again is what I want most. But at the moment I am not yet a professional cyclist.”

Will he ever be the same again? “The doctors are very confident that I will come back. But they can’t say yet when that will be. Things can suddenly happen very quickly. I hope that things will improve step by step in the coming months so that I can race again this season.”

It is not the first time that Van der Hoorn has been sidelined by concussion. In 2018 he missed a large part of the season, but still had a strong autumn. “When I was suddenly able to train with intensity for an hour, six weeks later I won a stage in the Benelux Tour. I hope that that turning point will come and that I can train at full speed again. Then I have confidence that I will come back well.”

Van Hoorn hoping to be back soon:

 

Patrick Lefevere: “We had a Crisis Meeting about our Lack of Performance in the Classics”
Apart from Tim Merlier, the Soudal Quick-Step team has been nearly invisible in the spring Classics. Team manager, Patrick Lefevere, is less than happy about the situation. “Last Tuesday I called a meeting. For those who want to call it that: a crisis meeting,” he wrote in his Het Nieuwsblad column.

“It is no secret that we were not involved in Paris-Roubaix either. The central question of our meeting was therefore obvious. Where does the lack of performance come from? There are then quite a few different options on the table. Does it depend on the equipment? Certainly not on our Specialized bike, because I think it is still the best of the peloton. We discussed tubeless tires for some time, but I think Jordi Meeus rode in the top 10 with exactly the same type from the same manufacturer.”

Lefevere had other options on the agenda. “Should spring riders go on an altitude training camp, as Yves Lampaert, Julian Alaphilippe and Casper Pedersen, among others, did in February? The riders who score in the spring behind Mathieu van der Poel are the ones who ride small spring races in February, such as the Étoile de Bessèges and the Coupe de France races. We don’t ride there because there are too many riders on training to make selections. We should not dramatise the situation. At the moment we have still won thirteen races. Only UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike do better. My sponsors use a helicopter view and mainly aim abroad anyway. Remco in Portugal and Landa in Spain certainly make them happy. It is the Flemish fans and media who have a fixation on the Classics.”

In the Ardennes races, Lefevere won’t have Remco Evenepoel, who saved the team’s spring in the past two years by winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège. “As the Brabantse Pijl made clear: the team’s effectiveness is also limited in the Ardennes. We will line up Ilan Van Wilder in the Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday. A bit against his will, because he is in a training block towards the Tour de Romandie. I completely understand his position, but training alone is a privilege we cannot afford at this time.”

A less than happy Patrick Lefevere:

 

Bjerg and Wellens Extend with UAE Team Emirates
Bjerg commits till 2027, Wellens extends deal through to 2025

UAE Team Emirates will count on the services of Mikkel Bjerg and Tim Wellens who have both extended their contracts with the Emirati outfit. Mikkel Bjerg, 25, who joined the team at the beginning of 2020 has inked a three year deal which will keep him at the team until 2027.

Bjerg: “I’m super pleased to be committing long-term to UAE Team Emirates. The team has believed in me a lot since the start of my career and I feel like I have progressed and grown alongside the team which I am proud to be a part of. Having the long-term support and expertise from the best squad in the world I feel like I’m in the right place and want to continue growing alongside the team.”

Meanwhile Wellens, 32, who has just finished off a successful classics campaign, will continue to wear the colours of the Emirati outfit for at least another season, penning a deal until the end of 2025.

Wellens: “I’m very pleased to be able to continue with UAE Team Emirates and grateful for the opportunity. I find a good balance between personal ambitions and helping my teammates depending on the race, and it’s a role I am enjoying a lot. I feel honoured to be surrounded by such good strong people, not only riders but also the best staff. I feel it’s like a family, with a really positive atmosphere at every race. I still have a lot of ambition to stay at the highest level for years to come and win many races with the team.”

Wellens to stay with UAE Team Emirates:

 

Lidl-Trek Not Signing Demi Vollering
It is still unclear which team Demi Vollering will race for next year, but according to GCN’s Dan Benson, it will not be Lidl-Trek, he wrote on social media.

It is known that Vollering will leave SD Worx-Protime at the end of this season. The Dutch champion is not saying anything about her future at the moment, but several teams are said to have shown interest. At the beginning of this year it was rumour that Vollering was offered an annual salary of one million euros by UAE Team ADQ.

Movistar and Visma | Lease a Bike were also mentioned, but these teams don’t seem to have the money. FDJ-SUEZ has also said that there have been talks, but that the negotiations have failed. Now it looks like Lidl-Trek are dropping out of the race for her signature.

The discussions between Lidl-Trek, Elisa Longo Borghini and Elizabeth Deignan are said to be going in the right direction. These talk were happening before the Italian champion won the Tour of Flanders.

Vollering not going to Lidl-Trek:

 

Bianchi’s Statement on Sénéchal Declarations after Paris-Roubaix
Bianchi learned with surprise and concern of the statements made to the international press by Team Arkea-B&B Hotels rider, Florian Sénéchal, following Paris-Roubaix last Sunday 7 April, regarding the reliability of the Bianchi bicycles supplied to the team.

Following a discussion with the team, and having ascertained the specifics of the incident, Bianchi would like to clarify the following:

All Bianchi frames and components have successfully passed the validation test protocols in accordance with the ISO 4210-5 standard, which certifies their suitability for use in total safety by our customers, and by professional athletes equipped by Bianchi.

With specific reference to the demands of racing on cobblestones – and in particular Paris-Roubaix, one of the most demanding races for bicycles and their components – the Arkea B&B Hotels organisation carried out several tests that validated the use of both the Bianchi Specialissima RC and Oltre RC models.

The numerous pre-race tests and the continuous use in competition of the Bianchi RC models by Team Arkea-B&B Hotels in the Northern classics, including Luca Mozzato’s second place at the Tour of Flanders on the Oltre RC, demonstrate the total efficiency and effectiveness of the Bianchi Reparto Corse models, even in very high-stress races.

Following discussions between Bianchi and the technical staff of the team, it emerged that the specific instructions provided by Bianchi for assembling the handlebars of bikes were disregarded in some cases, causing disparities in the handling of the bicycles in competition.

Regardless of competitive and performance contexts, Bianchi considers the safety of its customers and professional athletes to be of paramount importance.

The company constantly invests not only in research and development but also in laboratory and road testing activities which guarantee the use of its products in total safety.

Bianchi reiterates its support for Team Arkea B&B Hotels with renewed positivity, looking forward to the upcoming important events of the season with the aim of taking more victories and consolidating the top ten position in the UCI WorldTour rankings.

Sénechal not pleasing his bike sponsor:

 

Records and legends on the Course of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es

• Scattered over the 867 kilometres and the 8 stages of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es we can find many tales, statistics and trivia that enrich the history of Spanish cycling.
• The world’s best female riders will visit many places where key moments of the men’s La Vuelta took place, such as the city where the fastest road race stage in grand tour history was held or the climb where one of the most impressive coups in this century happened.

La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es will kick off on April 28th, with a team time trial in Valencia starting from the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias – the City of Arts and Sciences, a beautiful complex offering projections, exhibitions and workshops relating to many different fields of knowledge. So did the 2002 edition of men’s La Vuelta. Back 22 years ago, the riders headed north and rode along the Turia river to later end their effort just in front of the Puente del Mar. This year’s TTT, a unique race in the UCI Women’s WorldTour, will instead set off towards the south to visit the Parque Natural de la Albufera, a protected natural area famous for its biodiversity and cherished by birdwatchers, to take a 180º turn after eight kilometres and ride back to Valencia to end up at the Oceanogràfic, an aquarium located inside the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.

Right after the TTT, the peloton of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es will enjoy three relatively flat stages. The first one joins Buñol and Moncofa – two towns whose populations hardly total 20,000 inhabitants between both of them and that have not held the start nor the finish of any professional cycling race in this century. Stage 3 will in turn begin from Lucena del Cid, a charming town enclosed in the Castellón mountains. On its surroundings we find the Alto de Mas de la Costa, a climb that has decided two stages of the men’s La Vuelta in 2016 and 2019, won by Switzerland’s Mathias Frank and Spanish cycling legend Alejandro Valverde.

Next April 30th, though, the main climb will be the Alto de la Fuente de Rubielos, the appetiser of choice whenever La Vuelta has finished a stage at the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre, an astronomical observatory sitting at the summit of a long, dragging ascent on which last year Sepp Kuss triumphed and grabbed La Roja – the race’s Red leader jersey that he later took home. The stage will finish in Teruel, a small city that saw Frank Vandenbroucke raise his arms in victory back at La Vuelta 1999 – and Eddy Merckx falling a few centimetres shy of doing so in the 1973 edition of the Spanish men’s Grand Tour.

Castilla – La Mancha was proclaimed European Region of Sport in 2024, and as to commemorate this feat is hosting the start of the fourth stage of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es and the finish of the seventh in Molina de Aragón and Sigüenza. Both towns belong to Spain’s ‘Ice Triangle’ – that is, the area on which the coldest temperatures in the country are registered every year. Molina de Aragón, in particular, is deemed to be Spain’s coldest town by average temperature – and it indeed froze down to -16ºC in February 2023. The riders are gladly visiting it in May …

… Although they shall be careful with the wind, as stage 4 is finishing in Zaragoza, and this city is famous by its ‘cierzo’ wind. The ‘cierzo’ was indeed instrumental for Igor González de Galdeano to clinch what remains the fastest-ever road race stage in a grand tour to this day. It was the 9th stage of La Vuelta 2001 – 172,2 kilometres from Logroño to Zaragoza, ridden at an impressive average speed of 55,176 kph.

Zaragoza’s place in female cycling’s history is also a privileged one. The capital city of Aragón hosted the first-ever Spanish national championship for women in 1979. Mercedes Ateca was the gold medalist, with the bronze going to local rider María Victoria Fustero – a woman who would later work for many years as a doctor for the Spanish national cycling team. The tradition of women’s cycling in Zaragoza wrote another beautiful chapter with the Critérium Fiestas del Pilar, an exhibition, post-season event that was devoted to professional female riders between 2003 and 2005.

At La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es there will be flat – and there will be climbs! The Spanish female grand tour will be decided by three summit finishes that have all three been used before in the men’s version of the event. First will come the Fuerte Rapitán, a steep, devilish ascent in the outskirts of Jaca on which Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodríguez landed an excellent victory in 2012. That day the race will start from Huesca and hit mid-way through the stage the slopes that lead to the Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña, an impressive, monumental set of churches and abbeys from different centuries. From there they will descend to Jaca, birthplace to José María Javierre, a.k.a. Joseph Habierre – Spain’s pioneer Tour de France rider.

Stage 6 will take off from Tarazona, the town that held the dramatic individual time trial that sent Nairo Quintana home while wearing La Roja in La Vuelta 13, to later reach the Laguna Negra de Vinuesa, a glacial site in the Picos de Urbión. Ireland’s Dan Martin was the first rider to ever win here in this ascent during La Vuelta 20, while last year it was Jesús Herrada who claimed victory up there after a long-range breakaway. The following day, the race will go from San Esteban de Gormaz to Sigüenza, where an uphill finish will force GC riders to be in contention until the very last pedal stroke.

Everything will be set up then for the race finale – a mountain showdown, like last year at Lagos de Covadonga. The peloton will start from Distrito Telefónica, the vast complex that Spain’s main telecommunications operators has in the outskirts of Madrid, and head north to find the Puerto de Morcuera. This is a climb that was first showcased in a cycling race back in the 70s by La Vuelta itself. On its slopes we saw Tom Dumoulin succumb to Astana’s efforts and surrender La Roja to Fabio Aru in the second-to-last stage of the 2015 edition. Once Morcuera is crested, a fast descent will lead to the climb to Valdesquí, a winter sport complex in the limit between the Comunidad de Madrid and Castilla y León. The ascent to Valdesquí is an extension of the traditional Puerto de Cotos – another usual feature in men’s La Vuelta traditional final stages in the mountains around Madrid.

To finish La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es in the Madrid area is not only a salutation to the men’s La Vuelta – it also pays a tribute to the history of Spanish women’s cycling. Despite a number of precedents in Barcelona, Valencia or Madrid itself, the first-ever official female cycling race in Spain was held in 1935 at El Pardo, a ward outside the Spanish capital that is distinguished by its large green areas. The winner was Faustina Valladolid, a woman who was later denied the right to participate in professional, male-only cycling events despite her club’s stubborn attempts and arguments. That first-ever race was 14,4-kilometres long – thus, shorter than Valencia’s 16-kilometre opening TTT. Only 10 riders entered the race – nothing to do with the peloton of 147 riders spread over 21 teams that will take part in the second edition of La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es. Times have changed!

 

Vollering in Pursuit of the Double

Key points:

• Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime), who scored a fabulous hat-trick of victories in the Ardennes last year, is the favourite to win the 27th edition of La Flèche-Wallonne Femmes on Wednesday, 17 April.
• To try and beat the Dutchwoman, the Lidl-Trek team will have two women who have already finished on the podium at the top of the Mur de Huy (Gaia Realini and Elisa Longo Borghini).
• Among the many headliners are 2022 winner Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez) and Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram Racing), who dazzled in the Tour of Flanders (2nd).

Who can beat Demi Vollering? Last year, nobody did it in the Ardennes. The Dutch rider won the Amstel Gold Race Ladies, La Flèche Wallonne Femmes and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes in one week, a “very special” treble that only her sporting director Anna van der Breggen had achieved in 2017. Since then, she has overwhelmingly confirmed her status as the new queen of climbing races by winning the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. So, she will be the firm favourite at the start of the 27th edition of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes, which for the first time will run after the men’s race (finish scheduled for around 6 pm). Her teammate Lotte Kopecky, fresh from her victory in the Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift in the rainbow jersey, is saving herself for her debut in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes on Sunday, 21st April, and will therefore leave the reins to Demi Vollering at SD Worx-Protime.

With an exceptionally solid line-up, Lidl-Trek looks set to thwart her dreams of a double and put on a show over the 143.5km course. The American team is the only outfit with several riders who have already finished on the podium at the top of the Mur de Huy: last spring’s revelation Gaia Realini (third in 2023) and Tour of Flanders winner Elisa Longo Borghini (second in 2013 and third in 2014), who dominated Vollering on Wednesday with a solo win in the Brabantse Pijl. All five Lidl-Trek riders on the entry list have already finished in the top 10 of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes, including Lucinda Brand (fourth in 2012), Brodie Chapman (ninth in 2019) and Amanda Spratt (fifth in 2018 and ninth in 2021).

In dazzling form at the Tour of Flanders (second), Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram Racing) hopes to finally lift her arms after two podium finishes in 2017 (third) and 2021 (second). Ashleigh Moolman (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) is about to equal Italian Tatiana Guderzo’s record of 15 participations. The 38-year-old South African is amazingly consistent in the Belgian classic. She has finished in the top 7 ten times, with two podium results (runner-up in 2018 and third in 2013). On the other hand, it will be the first participation for the promising 21-year-old Fem van Empel, and two-time cyclo-cross world champion, who is Visma’s best chance for the win.

Fifth last year, Evita Muzic and Marta Cavalli will be a pair to keep an eye on at FDJ-Suez. The Frenchwoman has been in good form over the previous month (tenth in the Strade Bianche, ninth in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda). And we all know the immense talent of the Italian, who in 2022 beat Annemiek van Vleuten (and Demi Vollering, third) to succeed the “Queen of the Wall” Anna van der Breggen, who had just retired after seven successive triumphs in Huy.

24 Teams, The Main Contenders

Australia
Liv-AlUla-Jayco: Mavi Garcia (Spa), Ella Wyllie (Nzl), Urska Zigart (Slo)

Belgium
AG Insurance – Soudal Team: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (Rsa), Sarah Gigante (Aus), Julie Van de Velde (Bel)
Chevalmeire: Hanna Nilsson (Swe)
Fenix-Deceuninck: Yara Kastelijn (Ned), Christina Schweinberger (Aut)
Lotto Dstny Ladies: Maureen Arens (Ned)

France
Arkéa-B&B Hotels Women: Lotte Claes (Bel)
FDJ-Suez: Marta Cavalli (Ita), Loes Adegeest (Ned), Evita Muzic (Fra)
Cofidis: Nikola Noskova (Cze), Julie Bego (Fra)
St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93: Marion Bunel (Fra), Victorie Guilman (Fra)

Germany
Canyon//Sram Racing: Elise Chabbey (Swi), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol), Ricarda Bauernfeind (Ger)

Italy
Bepink-Bongioanni: Andrea Casagranda (Ita)

Netherlands
SD Worx-Protime: Demi Vollering (Ned), Niamh Fisher-Black (Nzl), Mischa Bredewold (Ned)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL: Esmée Peperkamp (Ned), Eglantine Rayer (Fra)
Team Visma | Lease a Bike: Fem van Empel (Ned)
Volkerwessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team: Quinty Schoens (Ned)

Norway
Team Coop-Repsol: India Grangier (Fra)
Uno-X Mobility: Simone Boilard (Can), Mie Bjorndal Ottestad (Nor)

Spain
Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi: Ane Santesteban (Spa)
Movistar Team: Olivia Baril (Can)

Switzerland
Roland: Anna Kiesenhofer (Aut)

United Arab Emirates
UAE Team ADQ: Erica Magnaldi (Ita), Alena Amialiusik (Blr)

United States
EF Education-Cannondale: Veronica Ewers (Usa)
Human Powered Health: Ruth Edwards (Usa)
Lidl-Trek: Gaia Realini (Ita), Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita)

Demi Vollering won Flèche Wallonne’23:

 

Flèche Wallonne: The Wall of Truth

Key points:

• Edition 88 of La Flèche Wallonne coincides with the 40th finish at the top of the Mur de Huy after 199 kilometres of racing. The big battle of punchers is open to the appetite of the most explosive riders. Primoz Roglič is perhaps the sharpest of them all at his best, but the current uncertainty allows all his rivals to emerge unabashedly.
• The UAE Emirates team is counting on former winner Marc Hirschi and Juan Ayuso in his debut at La Flèche. Mattias Skjelmose, the runner-up in 2023, has already made his mark, as have Richard Carapaz and Benoit Cosnefroy, the in-form Frenchman at the moment.

The centre of the racing world moves. The journey is only a few dozen kilometres long, but every year, there’s a genuine change of scenery between the countryside of the Flanders and the sequence of Ardennes Classics. Gone are the cobblestones, replaced by the steep, leg-straining climbs; leave the heavyweights behind and give way to the lightweights, climbers who are both tough and explosive. It’s in this very particular category that the contenders for La Flèche Wallonne, in principle, almost all of whom will still be in contention when they set off on the fearsome slopes of the Mur de Huy, some sections of which have a gradient exceeding 23%. The confrontation becomes a fireworks display in an effort lasting just under three minutes for the best riders. And this year, the ramp to success is open to all appetites, with defending champion Tadej Pogačar having chosen to save himself for Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The prognosticators should logically turn their attention to his compatriot Primoz Roglič, who has an almost unbeatable punch in his arsenal at the peak of his form. In his only previous appearance in 2021, he only lost out to Julian Alaphilippe, the world champion and master of the race at the time, and that was partly due to a timing error when he launched his attack. A 100% Roglič would win the vote, but his first appearances in the BORA-hansgrohe jersey are no guarantee of optimal form, especially after his crash in the Tour of the Basque Country. The Mur de Huy could therefore remain the stomping ground for UAE Emirates, who have assembled a very potent squad with former winner Marc Hirschi (2020), as well as recent winner in the Basque Country Juan Ayuso and other high-profile riders at the start of the season, such as Brandon McNulty (third in Paris-Nice, and winner of the GP Indurain), Diego Ulissi (third in the 2019 Flèche) and Joao Almeida.

Mattias Skjelmose, who has also kept pace with the best wherever he has competed this year, could be in line for his first victory in a prestigious classic, where he finished runner-up last year. The Danish champion will perhaps be the most closely watched of the former podium finishers in Huy and must choose which wheel to follow among the many contenders. Bahrain-Victorious makes the trip with Pello Bilbao (third in the UAE Tour, sixth in the Tour of the Basque Country), who was almost as strong as his Colombian teammate Santiago Buitrago before he retired on the final stage of Paris-Nice, while Ineos Grenadiers is counting on Tom Pidcock (sixth in 2021) and EF Education is hoping to propel Richard Carapaz to the top of the classification, as well as Ben Healy and Neilson Powless.

La Flèche Wallonne represents a succession challenge in the French camp since Julian Alaphilippe’s three victories (2018-19-21). The best-qualified rider in this role is Benoit Cosnefroy, who hasn’t found the winning formula since his second place in 2020, but judging by his victories in the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, Paris-Camembert and the Brabantse Pijl, is on peak form. However, the most consistent rider on the ultra-specific Mur de Huy is Warren Barguil. He has finished in the Top 10 six times in 10 appearances (fourth in 2020) and is eager to impress in his new dsm-firmenich PostNL jersey. David Gaudu (seventh in 2021) could also be up for the challenge. But spectators also wait to see the next generation shine in the Ardennes classics. It is the time, for example, for young guns Romain Grégoire and Paul Lapeira, who claimed stage wins in the Tour of the Basque Country, or Kevin Vauquelin, who won the Etoile de Bessèges time trial earlier this year.

25 Teams, The Main Contenders

Australia
Team Jayco AlUla: Matthews (Aus)

Bahrain
Bahrain Victorious: Bilbao (Spa), Buitrago (Col)

Belgium
Soudal-Quick Step: Vansevenant, Vervaeke (Bel)
Lotto Dstny: Van Gils (Bel)
Intermarché-Wanty: Calmejane, Faure-Prost (Fra)
Alpecin-Deceuninck: Hermans (Bel), Laurance (Fra)
Bingoal WB: Vliegen (Bel)

France
Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale: Cosnefroy, Lapeira, Peters (Fra)
Groupama-FDJ: Madouas, Gaudu, Grégoire (Fra)
Cofidis: Herrada, Izagirre (Spa)
Team Arkéa-B&B hôtels: Vauquelin, Champoussin (Fra)
TotalEnergies: Vuillermoz, Grellier (Fra)

Germany
BORA-hansgrohe: Roglič (Slo), Higuita (Col), Vlasov

Great Britain
Ineos Grenadiers: Pidcock (Gbr), Kwiatkowski (Pol), Fraile (Spa)

Israel
Israel-Premier Tech: Teuns (Bel), Woods (Can), Schultz (Aus), Fuglsang (Den)

Kazakhstan
Astana Qazaqstan Team: Charmig (Den), Velasco, Scaroni (Ita)

Netherlands
Visma | Lease a Bike: Benoot (Bel)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL: Barguil (Fra)

Norway
Uno-X Mobility: Johannessen, Leknessund (Nor)

Spain
Movistar Team: Aranburu, Lazkano (Spa), Formolo (Ita)
Euskaltel-Euskadi: Berasategui (Spa)

Switzerland
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team: De la Cruz (Spa)

United Arab Emirates
UAE Team Emirates: Hirschi (Swi), Ayuso (Spa), Almeida (Por), Ulissi (Ita), McNulty (Usa)

United States
Lidl-Trek: Skjelmose (Den), Skujins (Lat)
EF Education-Easypost: Carapaz (Ecu), Powless (Usa), Healy (Irl)

Flèche Wallonne’23:

 

Tro Bro Leon: Roaring Forties… In Decreasing Order

Key points:

• On May 5, the 40th edition of the Tro Bro Leon will feature a record number of ribins, the graveled paths that make the Breton event so special: 34.6km in 29 sectors out of a total race distance of 203.6km.
• The double pass in front of Keroüartz Castle returns for what promises to be a thrilling final hour of racing, with Arnaud De Lie eager for revenge after his second place last year.
• For the first time, the ribins will be numbered in descending order, like the cobbles in Paris-Roubaix.

In the large room where the teams are presented and where the guests of the Tro Bro Leon feast on kig-ha-farz (the local speciality, a sort of stew combining meat and farin), Arnaud De Lie will be able to see his portrait in a giant ten-metre format, the same size as the enlarged poster for the 40th edition of the Tro Bro Leon, bearing the effigy of French champion Valentin Madouas, the local idol.

The “Bull of Lescheret”, who finished second last year behind Italy’s Giacomo Nizzolo and came close to completing the double the day after winning the GP Morbihan in Plumelec, his first in Brittany where the races remind him so much of Belgium, has put the Tro Bro Leon back on his race schedule with the firm intention of winning it this time. He knows that none of his compatriots has won in Lannilis since Jo Planckaert in 2000, the year the competition was opened up to professional cyclists.

It won’t take long before he gets back in touch with the ribins, the graveled paths that make the event so special since 1984. Forty years on, the course has a new twist with an unprecedented ribin in Saint-Renan. This is the first one. It takes place 33.6km after the start from Lannilis and the passage along the tourist route between Portsall and Landunvez, exposed to the English Channel winds which are always likely to create movement at the front of the pack.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a ribin this early in the race,” notes Jean-Paul Mellouët, who hasn’t laid out the same course twice since 1984. “Usually, it comes around Bourg-Blanc after about fifty kilometres. We were forced to change the route because of road works in Saint-Renan. The local community has done a good job of fixing it up for the race.”

Riders and spectators of the 2024 Tro Bro Leon will be able to see the scars of Storm Ciáran, which hit the north west of France on the night of 1st to 2nd of November last year. Many trees are still lying on the ground, but all the roads and ribins will be cleared in time for the passage of the runners on May 5.

For the first time, the numbering of the ribins will be in descending order, as the cobblestones in Paris-Roubaix, “to make it easier for the riders to know where they’re at”, explained technical director Cédric Coutouly. The one in Saint-Renan will be numbered 29. The total distance covered by the 24 different sectors is 34.6km, a record since the event was first organised and a significant increase in difficulty compared with last year (28.9km).

Some of them are visited twice, including the now iconic ribin that leads the peloton past Keroüartz castle (ribin 11 with 41km to go and ribin 2 with 8km to go). The last edition only used it once. “The finale is a mix of 2022 and 2023,” summarises Mellouët. Cédric Coutouly predicts that the big battle between the favourites will start “after Ménéham and sector 21 near Plouguerneau”. It’s close to the sea and from there, 76km from the finish, everything is designed to combine the suspense of the race with the beauty of the coastal landscape.

Tro Bro’23:

 

INEOS Grenadiers Off-Script: Paris-Roubaix
Watch as the INEOS Grenadiers take on cycling’s toughest one-day race: Paris-Roubaix. From the pre-race recon to the final Velodrome, go behind the scenes at The Hell of the North.

 

The PEZ INSTAGRAM
See our Instagram page for a quick fix on your phone: https://www.instagram.com/pezcyclingnews

---

The PEZ NEWSWIRE!
Don’t forget to check the “NEWSWIRE” section, you can find it on the homepage, just above the PEZ Shop section. The bits of news that missed the EuroTrash deadline are in there, plus any news as-it-happens will be added there too.

---

Any comments drop me a line, at: [email protected] or Twitter. And check the PezCyclingNews Twitter and Facebook Page. And say hi on Zwift when you pass me.