It’s billed as the sprinters’ Classic but instead it was the breakaway riders who dominated today’s Paris-Tours race, attacking early on in windy conditions and foiling the peloton’s fastmen. Belgian rider Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) was quickest in a two-up gallop with Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil), beating the Italian decisively in their final sprint.
Kasper Larsen Klostergaard (Saxo Bank SunGard) clipped away from the chase group and nabbed third, 15 seconds back, while Ian Stannard (Sky Procycling) outsprinted Lazlo Bodrogi (Team Type 1) for fourth place. FDJ rider Michael Delage had got close to bridging to Van Avermaet and Marcato with five kilometres to go, dragging his team-mate Gerard along after the latter was caught and passed by the other two 7.1 kilometres from the line.
However these were caught by the chase group behind and so Delage had to be content with winning the chasing group sprint for sixth, 22 seconds back.
The result was a very big one for Van Avermaet, who previously won a stage plus the points classification in the 2008 Vuelta a España, and more recently took a stage and the overall in the Tour de Wallonie. “It was very hard. There was a split 100 kilometres from the finish. It was pretty complicated with 20 riders or so. Marcato knew that I, along with O’Grady, was the fastest one in the group. So he attacked and I had to respond. I had to try to hang on in there.
“I am relieved. It is special to make the breakthrough. I was third in San Sebastian, but Paris-Tour is one of the big Classics I like most. I am very relieved to win here. It is a very important step up for my career.”
Pre-race favourites Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) and world champion Mark Cavendish (HTC Highroad) were amongst those who lost out, as was the in-form Robbie McEwen. They all missed the big move and while Gilbert got away in another chasing group, he was marked closely and also lacked some of the strength he showed for much of the season.
Still, while he will regret not being able to take his third victory in the race, he can be pleased for Van Avermaet, who will be a team-mate of his next year after Gilbert moves across to the BMC Racing Team. Rather than being intimidated by the arrival of the world’s number one rider for 2011, Van Avermaet is looking forward to racing alongside him and believes that he will also have opportunities.
“We will have a brilliant team next year with Gilbert and Cadel Evans and so on, he smiled. “The team will know now that I can win Classics as well. I will have my chances; it’s good to have won today.”
Klostergaard’s third place came after he clipped away strongly close to the finish. Directeur sportif Dan Frost said afterwards that he was satisfied with the way things played out. “On behalf of the team I'm really about happy about this result,” he said. “For a while out there we were in position wondering whether to support Kasper (Klostergaard) or help catching the breakaway to support Baden (Cooke) in the bunch sprint.
“But mostly I'm immensely proud and happy to see Kasper do a great finale like this one. Throughout every season on the team, he's always supporting other riders and doing his job perfectly so he really deserves this. He's a true fighter and true Saxo Bank-SunGard rider so everyone is pleased about this result.”
Early move followed by bigger breakaway:
The early action saw seven riders clip away, namely William Clarcke (Leopard-Trek), David Boucher (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Rubens Bertogliati (Team Type 1), Andreas Klier (Garmin-Cervélo), Rony Martias (Saur-Sojasun), Sebastien Delfosse (Landbouwkrediet) and Jurgen van Goolen (Veranda's Willems-Accent). These opened up a lead of over eleven minutes, but this had dropped to below a minute with sixty kilometres to go.
The break was caught soon afterwards, then a large group surged clear in the windy conditions with approximately 55 kilometres left. Amongst those to miss out were 2008 and 2009 winner Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto), last year’s champ Oscar Freire (Rabobank), world champion Mark Cavendish (HTC Highroad) and Wallonie-Picardie winner Robbie McEwen (RadioShack), who told VeloNation in the build-up to the race that he had the form to win, but that he hoped things played out in his favour.
Despite their absence, the bunch took too long to get organised and the large break pulled further and further ahead. Amongst those out from were Van Avermaet, Marcato, Klostergaard, Staanard, Bodrogi, Delage, Geoffroy Lequatre (Team RadioShack), O’Grady, Roy Curvers (Skil-Shimano) and Arnaud Gerard (FDJ), who would all fill the top ten, as well as several others including Clarke, Bertogliati, Leonard Duque (Cofidis) and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank).
The gap went out to over a minute and a half with 38 kilometres left, but this gap started to fall when the HTC Highroad team mounted a frantic chase for Cavendish. At that point in time the break was within range of being caught, but the cooperation out front was as good as that behind, and the move had one minute 32 seconds with 25 kilometres left.
Sensing defeat and with Cavendish also feeling fatigued, the HTC Higroad team stopped chasing. McEwen wasn’t impressed with the chance to win his first and last Paris-Tours going out the window and started gesturing at others to work, but this did little to spur them on.
Gilbert was also frustrated and clipped away in a group. With 19 kilometres to go, that move was one minute 17 seconds back and the Belgian tried to get something consistent organised. However the other riders didn’t cooperate and instead Matt Hayman (Sky Procycling) surged clear with HTC Highroad’s Plan B John Degenkolb and Damien Gaudin (Europcar). This group was more successful and steadily gained time on the Cavendish/Gilbert bunch.
Ahead, the leaders were starting to get edgy, due in part to the gap falling, and started attacking each other. Gerard seized his moment with 14 kilometres to go and pushed clear, riding well to open a good advantage. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) jumped away from the peloton to try to bridge, but would be unable to do so; ahead, Bodrogi was also feeling aggressive and launched a similar solo move from the break. However this and a subsequently surge by his team-mate Bertogliatti were both unsuccessful in staying ahead.
Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) and Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil) were feeling good and, waiting until they were inside the final ten kilometres, they put in a big move. They closed up on a tiring Gerard, whipping past him quickly on the Cote de l’Epan climb with 7.1 kilometres to go, and pulling ahead.
Gerard’s team-mate Delage came across and helped him to try to chase back on. They kept the leading duo within sight and still had a chance with five kilometres to go, with the gap there being a handful of seconds. However those behind were also coming back at them and with three kilometres left, on the outskirts of Tours, the two FDJ chasers were reeled in by a six man chasing group.
O’Grady was there, as were Bodrogi, Delage, Lequatre, Curvers and Klostergaard. They were joined soon afterwards by Stannard, who rode well to bridge across, then Klostergaard put in a big surge inside the final two kilometres and went clear.
He did his utmost to get back to the two leaders but was twenty seconds down going under the kite, and had left it too late. Van Avermaet was glued to Marcato’s wheel and kept the Italian there until he was ready to make his move, then kicked hard inside the final 250 metres and immediately opened a winning gap.