Mathieu van der Poel is world champion, but Christophe Laporte has also proven to be an excellent gravel rider. In Paris-Tours he beat Mathias Vacek in a duel. Jasper Philipsen was late with the peloton and sprinted to place 3.
The official World Cup gravel took place in Leuven, but unpaved roads also colored the course in Paris-Tours. However, due to the rainy weather in France, it was not a matter of collecting dust, but of swallowing mud.
European time trial champion Edoardo Affini saw his three fellow escapees crack when Mads Pedersen opened the final. The Dane from Lidl-Trek shook the tree vigorously for the first gravel strips.
However, the duo’s lead at the front remained limited. Christophe Laporte decided to bridge the gap and got Mathias Vacek closer in his wake. I had to see double, because suddenly Visma-Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek had two cones in the front.
Laporte and Vacek waved goodbye to their teammates 20 km from the finish and made it a battle. The thinned out peloton, with fast men Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud De Lie, was unable to close the half-minute gap.
Laporte outpaced the young Czech in the sprint and recorded his first victory since the European Championships in 2023. The peloton arrived too late, but Jasper Philipsen sprinted to the final podium spot.
Result Paris – Tours 2024
Laporte wins Paris-Tours
Vacek cannot get off the wheel of Christophe Laporte, who wins Paris-Tours. The platoon arrives late. Jasper Philipsen sprints to place 3.
Laporte will no longer take over from Vacek. Who will sprint to victory in Paris-Tours?
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Arnaud De Lie now doubles over, while Turgis makes a desperate attempt. In the meantime, Laporte and Vacek seem to be able to fight for victory.
Another 15 kilometers and it seems like it could go either way. Will Vacek and Laporte fight for victory or will the thinned peloton still interfere?
Then there were still two of them
Vacek and Laporte are left alone at the front. They still have half a minute ahead. The fast men in the peloton, with De Lie and Philipsen as the biggest contenders, remain hopeful.
The peloton should not hesitate, because there is little decline in the three front runners. Who can close the gap?
Things are moving too quickly for Affini due to the pounding of teammate Laporte. The platoon is already ready to absorb him.
Pedersen and Affini were already a formidable duo. Now Mathias Vacek and Christophe Laporte have also joined. A nice foursome. They have a 20 second lead.
Soren Kragh Andersen opted out
Disappointment for Jasper Philipsen, because Soren Kragh Andersen drops out. He was leading the pack, but now an important pawn is disappearing.
Pedersen keeps pounding and keeps the gap at 30 seconds. How long will the Dane keep up this effort?
A gap opens in the peloton, which breaks into two pieces. Meanwhile, Pedersen and Affini are still riding quickly at the front.
Mads Pedersen seems to have wasted strength with his maneuver, because the peloton already sees the Dane driving. In the meantime, Turgis, among others, are trying to bridge the gap with the duo at the front.
Mads Pedersen continues firmly in the lead and thus kills the early escapees. Only European time trial champion Affini can still follow the Dane. The peloton has to make up the ground on the Chemin de Vigne de la Grosse Pierre, which is very muddy.
3 riders crash on a roundabout
Three riders crash at a roundabout. Paul Penhoet seems to be the biggest victim at Groupama-FDJ.
Pedersen is approaching within half a minute of the leading group, but the peloton is also already within a minute.
Pedersen jumps away from the peloton in search of the escapees
Attack Mads Pedersen
Dangerous situation for Philipsen and De Lie. Mads Pedersen, who has been doing well in recent weeks, is just trying to bridge the gap with the leading trio. The Dane from Lidl-Trek takes his chances on the unpaved roads.
The gravel roads come into view, so the adventure of the three leaders is almost over. With the teammates of De Lie and Philipsen at the head of the peloton, the lead drops to 1’30”.
Philipsen’s team moves on
Jasper Philipsen has placed his teammates at the head of the peloton. Together with the riders from Lidl-Trek, they nibble at the lead of the trio at the front. Affini, Retegi and Boulet still have 1’50” left.
Desal lost na val
Things are going wrong with the leading group. Affini and Desal hit the ground. For Ceriel Desal, this immediately means the end of his adventure at the front. Affini can join Retegi and Boulet again.
With almost 100 kilometers in the legs, the lead of the leading group remains stable. It lasts about three minutes.
The competition radio was wrong. Not Eddy Le Huitouze, but European time trial champion Edoardo Affini is in the leading group with 4. The Italian from Visma-Lease a Bike also showed himself twice in the breakaway in the Giro.
The leading group has now built up a lead of more than 3 minutes. It seems as if the match situation is fixed for a while.
First attack
It remained quiet in the peloton for a while, but now four candidates have emerged to form the flight of the day. Eddy Le Huitouze (Groupama-FDJ), Mikel Retegi (Equipo Ken Pharma), our compatriot Ceriel Desal (Bingoal WB) and Enzo Boulet (CIC U Nantes Atlantique) join forces.
Start
The peloton gets underway in Chartres. 160 flat kilometers await you towards Tours, after which the spectacle can begin.
From Lie to Philipsen
Most specialists are at the clay court World Cup in Belgium today, but there are still some great names present at the start in Chartres.
With Arnaud De Lie, who won Binche-Chimay-Binche, and Jasper Philipsen, who triumphed in the Münsterland Giro, there are even two Belgian favorites. They will mainly have to deal with Mads Pedersen and Arnaud Demare, the winner in 2021 and 2022.
Autumn classic?
Paris-Tours is already in its 118th edition, but the race is still struggling to secure a place among the classics. The fact that the organization has been smuggling gravel roads into the course since 2018 is not to everyone’s liking.
Yet the race has only ended in a sprint once since then. Will we see a spectacle again on the unpaved areas around Tours?
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