Discover Paris-Tours 2024 highlights !
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© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
More information on :
https://www.paris-tours.fr
https://www.facebook.com/paristours
https://twitter.com/ParisTours
Official Hashtag: #ParisTours
© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
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SportTranscription
00:00Welcome to the Autumn Classic and the 118th edition of Paris-Tours.
00:10One of the final outings of the peloton season and the riders having to navigate the conditions
00:15with rain and wind served up.
00:18Eddie Sheehan caused a shock last year and the American excited to defend the title.
00:22It's so nice to be back here.
00:23I've been looking forward to this race all year long and to have the number one is almost
00:28surreal.
00:29It's incredible.
00:30For sure the rain is going to add a little bit more chaos but I actually don't mind the
00:34rain in a race.
00:35So, yeah, I'm just kind of looking forward to it and it's not too cold so that's good
00:41and yeah, whether it's rain or shine, I'm just psyched.
00:46Sheehan won of four former winners taking part, including the man who won it twice before
00:50him, Arnaud Demare, aiming to become just the fifth to win it a third time, but a first
00:55in these conditions.
00:57Well, I've never ridden here under the rain.
01:01It could become a bit chaotic.
01:02We'll need to be wary as we head for the gravel roads.
01:06Of course, there will be plenty of wind, headwinds as well.
01:11We'll need to take it easy on the route to the first path because the first one will
01:15be very important.
01:18Victory at Robreau-Léon back in May suggests the course could suit Belgian champion Arnaud
01:23Delie, but the conditions even mean the 22-year-old struggles to make any predictions.
01:28Well, it's always challenging to predict who will win Paris-Tour since the introduction
01:34of the gravel roads.
01:35Some might say it's a bunch sprint, but the weather means the race is wide open.
01:40100 metres shorter than 12 months ago, but otherwise little different from Châtres
01:52in France.
02:04Four escapades at the start, but that was whittled down to three heading into the final
02:0990 kilometres of Paris-Tour 2024.
02:12The first contact with the vineyard paths looming, youngsters Enzo Boulay and Michel
02:18Following an ideal pace setter in Edoardo Affini, the Italian ruler, the reigning European
02:23time trial champion after winning the title last month.
02:28The peloton not allowing a gap of more than two minutes by this stage, and despite less
02:33than idyllic weather, the pack keeping up a good rhythm.
02:36Four hours of riding and around 42 kilometres per hour.
02:41The breakaway clawed back some time, but Lidl trek up the ante for former world champion
02:45Max Pedersen.
02:47His first Paris-Tour, in conditions favouring the 28-year-old whose 2019 world title was
02:52won in a Yorkshire deluge.
02:55The Dane making a move on the Côte de l'Emirée, ahead of the first vineyard of the same name.
02:59As the leading trio rode into the mud, Pedersen noticed he was all alone.
03:05The peloton finally into the mix, 10 vineyard paths in total covering 10 muddy kilometres,
03:11Pedersen in between but gunning to join the head of the race.
03:15By path 8, La Grosse-Pierre, the great Dane had bridged the gap but a lack of cohesion
03:19saw the gap shrink sharply.
03:21Boullée and Rettéguet couldn't keep up as Pedersen and Affini kicked on.
03:27Lewis Askey hoped to repeat or better his second place last edition, but despite his
03:31efforts a podium return wasn't to manifest for the Briton.
03:35Time for a former champion to take up the chase.
03:39Soren Kral-Andersen won in 2018 when the vineyard paths were first introduced, as the Dane led
03:45single file the duo up the road, protecting nearly 30 seconds with Affini desperately
03:50clinging to Pedersen's wheel.
03:52Yet there was no protection for Kral-Andersen from setting the pace to suffering a punishing
03:57puncture.
04:00Then a move of menace made with 33 kilometres remaining, 2023 European champion Christopher
04:06Laporte hit the accelerator.
04:09The Visma Lisa bike rider and Lidl Trek's Mathias Vacek aimed to double up for their
04:13teams but Laporte's teammate Affini couldn't match the Frenchman's output while young
04:19Vacek took over from Pedersen.
04:22After 47 kilometres on the attack, the Dane finally distanced.
04:28Visma versus Lidl Trek 2.0, unless the peloton could reel in the mud-covered pairing.
04:36The final section at Roche-Cobon, with the gap stabilising above 30 seconds, with the
04:41chasing peloton running out of time to shut it down inside the final 10 kilometres.
04:48Any hope for sprinters like Belgian champion Arnaud Delis appeared to be dashed, with teammates
04:54unable to bridge across.
04:57As they passed La Flamme Rouge, with no fight back mounted, it was a two-man battle for
05:03the line.
05:04Laporte checks, Vacek might have put Laporte into the lead here, they're almost at a standstill,
05:15it's a track stand between these two riders.
05:17We just click over five hours of racing, Laporte now accelerates away, it's going to be Christophe
05:24Laporte, Vacek into the slipstream though, Laporte goes for the line, Vacek tries to
05:29get past, but it is going to be a victory here for the rider from Visma-Lisabike, the
05:35Frenchman Laporte wins.
05:39Here comes the sprint finish, the rest of the peloton coming in, and here comes Jasper
05:47Philipsen looking for third place on the day, Philipsen powers through, he takes third place,
05:54he wins the bunch sprint, but it's Christophe Laporte of France who wins the Paris Tour.
06:03Only the fourth Frenchman to win Paris Tour in the 21st century, all the sweeter for Laporte,
06:09given he hadn't won in over a year.
06:12A bronze medal wasn't quite the colour he'd dreamed of at a home Olympics, but a first
06:17autumn classic success, a perfect way to end a mixed 2024 season.
06:24I'm very happy, I wish I'd won more since my last win at the European Championships
06:34last year.
06:35I wasn't able to defend the European road race title unfortunately, but of course it's
06:41not easy.
06:42I had a great experience at the Olympics, but not the one I wanted as I didn't win.
06:47The feeling was there, but the motivation becomes more challenging with each disappointment.
06:53Today I was really motivated to perform, I liked the conditions, the paths and the gravel,
06:58and I wanted to finish the best I could.
07:02Christophe Laporte securing a third home win in four editions for Les Bleus, Matthias
07:07Vacek second as the 22-year-old Czech continues to show great promise.
07:11Jasper Philipsen at the front of the bunch sprint to complete the podium ahead of Mike
07:15Tunissen and Alexis Renard.
07:18But a victorious conclusion to Laporte's season could open the door to more success in 2025.