One of the great favorites of the “classic of dead leaves”, Paris-Toursthe Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck), could only settle for third place this Sunday, behind the winner Christophe Laporte and the Czech Mathias Vacek. The recent winner of the Tour du Münster failed to catch up with the leading group who fought for victory in difficult conditions, with a lot of rain throughout the 213.8 kilometers to go.
Video – Laporte’s victory and reaction to Paris-Tours 2024
“It’s a good race, but of course no victory”
The winner of Paris-Tours Espoirs in 2017 has never won the French event among the elites: “I’m happy with the podium, but of course I wanted to win. There were two strong guys up front and there weren’t really any riders to ride in the back. In the end, we didn’t have any teammates left to chase. It’s a shame, but all the guys were very strong, so yes, it’s a good race, but of course no victory. It was really hard. I think with all the mud I’m happy just standing. It was an epic race, so I really enjoyed it. It was difficult, but I’m glad it’s over,” he declared at the microphone of the organization.