Better late than never: winner on Sunday of a wet and muddy Paris-Tours, Christophe Laporte waited for his last race of the year to finally open his victory counter in 2024 and end in style a season full of doubts.
In very autumnal conditions, after a race which spit out runners transformed into earthen statues, their faces smeared with mud, the Visma-Lease a bike runner won one of the oldest classics in the world by outsprinting his breakaway companion, the Czech Mathias Vacek.
The two men, who had set off against 33 km from the finish behind notably Mads Pedersen who had attempted a “Pogacaresque” raid, kept 21 seconds ahead of the pack of pursuers controlled by Jasper Philipsen.
“It’s special because I didn’t really believe in it anymore. It was quite a complicated year, I missed all the classics. Fortunately, I got this Olympic medal which saved my season a little and I can say now this victory at Paris-Tour too,” commented the 31-year-old from Var.
Winner of a stage of the Tour de France in 2022, the former Cofidis rider brought down the house last year by winning Ghent-Wevelgem and Across Flanders, two stages of the Dauphiné and the title of European champion, his last victory before Sunday.
But 2024 turned into a long way of the cross, between perineum surgery and a fall at the Giro, illuminated only by his bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
“There were moments of doubt. After the European Championships (in September), I realized that it had been a year since I had won and that has not happened to me often in my career .”
– “I couldn’t wait for it to end” –
“The legs were there, but the motivation was more difficult. You always wonder if you will be able to win. In fact, I couldn’t wait for the season to end. I did well to persevere, that’s it. is really a great line that I add to my list of achievements.”
Even if it is no longer part of the World Tour, the first division, Paris-Tours, of which it was already the 118th edition, remains a coveted event and the field was still prestigious on Sunday to attack the eight hills and ten particularly degraded vineyard paths.
Mads Pedersen, who loves these conditions in which he became world champion in 2019, absolutely wanted her on his hunt. And the Dane embarked on a raid 70 km from the finish which was only stopped fifty kilometers further when Laporte and Vacek, coming back on him, ended up dropping him.
“I also like it when it’s chaotic like that, the paths, the mud,” said Laporte. “At the start of the race, we’re a little grumpy, but when we get a little excited, the instinct comes back and we wants to race. I came back at the right time.”
Tough to a fault, very technically comfortable, the rider, who constitutes one of the main French cards each year at Paris-Roubaix, gave Vacek no chance in the sprint, which he mastered perfectly in the final.
“I couldn’t wait to close the book on this 2024 season, even if I had some strong moments, like the medal at the Olympics. It was extraordinary, but it was not a victory. There I will be able to leave for vacation with peace of mind.”
jk/dar
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