Christophe Laporte is the thirtieth French cyclist to register his name on the Paris-Tours list. The rider from the Visma-Lease a Bike team won the 118th on Sunday October 6e edition of the end-of-season classic, by sprinting ahead of his breakaway companion, the Czech Mathias Vacek. Belgian Jasper Philipsen, green jersey for the 2023 Tour de France, completes the podium.
Christophe Laporte, bronze medalist in the Olympic road race, signs his first success in 2024. “I am very happy. I almost didn’t hope for this victory anymore, I hadn’t won since the European Championship last year. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to win with the European champion jersey.”conceded, relieved, the 31-year-old runner, at the organizer’s microphone.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers 2024 Olympic Games: mission accomplished for the French Olympic team
Add to your selections
Winner of two Flandrian classics in 2023 (Ghent-Wevelgem and Across Flanders), he tamed a 213-kilometer course, including eight hills and ten particularly muddy vineyard paths. “It wasn’t an easy year, everything didn’t go as planned, even if there was the great satisfaction of this medal at the Olympic Games. But I hadn’t won for over a year and it hadn’t happened to me often in my career up until that point, so obviously there were moments of doubt. The feelings were there, but in terms of motivation it was more difficult. »
“A race of warriors”
In very wet conditions, the Varois, who started 33 kilometers from the finish in the company of Mathias Vacek, succeeds the American Riley Sheehan. “It was a race of warriorssummed up the winner of the day. It was very nervous and quite dangerous, but I like these conditions, with the mud and the paths. On Paris-Tours, it’s often like this: we panic in the first sectors, but ultimately it doesn’t break. I stayed behind in the first sectors. After a while, it gets under control and, after that, it’s easier to manage. »
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Paris 2024: Valentin Madouas and Christophe Laporte apply Professor Voeckler’s plan to get on the podium
Add to your selections
Created in 1896, Paris-Tours is one of the oldest cycling races. Taking place in autumn, it shares the nickname “dead leaves classic” with the Tour of Lombardy, which will take place on Saturday October 12.
In 2022, the Frenchman, a specialist in one-day races, was also a silver medalist at the road cycling world championships in Wollongong, Australia. On major tours, Laporte is often used by his team as a luxury teammate of Jonas Vingegaard or Wout van Aert.
Related News :