Archiv der Kategorie: Weltcup und Klassiker
ESCAPE FROM HELL-2011 : JOHAN VANSUMMEREN (III/V)
2011: Johan Vansummeren (III/V)
In the end, it’s not always the strongest who wins. Certainly not in cycling, and most definitely not in Paris-Roubaix. On the roads of the Hell of the North, the „strongest“ can just as easily win in the legendary velodrome as get bogged down in the Trouée d’Arenberg. Year after year, the cobblestone crushers crash in the Mons-en-Pévèle sector or collapse in the Carrefour de l’Arbre – and one cannot underestimate the traps of the asphalt either. On these unique roads, an aspirant for glory needs to be strong, but also brave and lucky. Paris-Roubaix smiles on the bold, even those who have been out there the longest. In a race where chaos is always the order of the day, early attackers create unsuspected openings. Conquerors of the Hell of the North, they tell us about their heavenly day on the cobbles.
Johan Vansummeren : „At Roubaix, I knew I had a chance“
4 + 3 + 2 = 9. From 2005 to 2013, nine editions of Paris-Roubaix were dominated by three major forces. There was Tom Boonen, Flanders hero, winner of the Hell of the North on four occasions, like Roger De Vlaeminck in the 1970s. Swiss icon Fabian Cancellara also made his way into the Roubaix legend with three triumphs. The other two editions contested during their reign crowned long-distance attackers specialising in the cobbles, who eventually found an opening to upset the pre-established (but rarely respected) scenarios of Paris-Roubaix.
In 2007, Stuart O’Grady achieved his conquest by taking part in the early breakaway before he surged in the final. In 2011, Johan Vansummeren was “at the back of the pack“ when the breakaway set off. The Trouée d’Arenberg was his winning launchpad, almost 100 kilometres away from the André-Pétrieux velodrome. At the same time, Boonen was lamenting a puncture. As for Fabian Cancellara, he remained behind, alongside the other main favourites, led by world champion Thor Hushovd, Vansummeren’s teammate in the ranks of Garmin-Cervélo.
Winner in Roubaix a year earlier (ahead of Hushovd, 2nd), Cancellara eventually unleashed his power. The gap to the front of the race had shrunk to around twenty seconds with 30 kilometres to go. But Vansummeren didn’t wait for anyone en route to the greatest success of his career. The Belgian suffered right to the end, with a puncture just outside of the Vélodrome. Still, he fulfilled the prophecy of his boss Jonathan Vaughters, who was convinced that Vansummeren, even more than Hushovd, held the key to breaking the Boonen-Cancellara lock.
KM 0. TOO EARLY TO MOVE : „I wasn’t going to jostle and lose energy“
„At the start, I was free – I didn’t have to do anything for the team leaders. Thor Hushovd had two riders working for him, [Roger] Hammond and [Andreas] Klier, and I could do my own thing. Up until the first sector in Troisvilles, I stayed at the back of the pack. You have to make a choice: either you try to get into the breakaway, or you try to preserve your legs as much as possible. That’s also a risk. If there’s a lot of wind, you can’t afford to lag behind. But that day, I told myself that I wasn’t going to jostle and lose energy. My idea was not to worry about the race for the first 100 kilometres. It was only in the last ten kilometres before Troisvilles that I started to work my way up to the front of the peloton.”
KM 98. SURVIVING THE FIRST COBBLES : „There are crashes, the peloton splits“
„The first cobbles in Paris-Roubaix are always dangerous. I was talking about it again last week with a friend: ‘We never talk about the first sectors, it’s not five stars… But there’s always tension.’ You have two hundred riders and everyone wants to be in the top ten. There are crashes, the peloton splits… OK, it comes back, but it takes energy. You have to fight beforehand and if you enter the cobbles in fifth or sixth position, you can even allow yourself to drop back a little. It’s all about being in the safety zone and staying well placed to avoid any splits.”
KM 172. ARENBERG, THE LAUNCH PAD : „Lotto pulled and pulled and pulled“
„At Arenberg, there isn’t really a safe zone any more. Even in second place, if the guy in front of you crashes, there’s no room. And if you have a mechanical… I was able to go through without having to push too hard. And as soon as we came out of the cobbles, [Jurgen] Roelandts attacked. I was on his wheel and off we went. We quickly caught up with the breakaway and then Lotto had three riders [Roelandts, André Greipel and David Boucher]. It was magnificent. They didn’t ask for anything, they just pulled and pulled and pulled… And I was around tenth place [he whistles]. They carried me for nearly 70 kilometres, until we battled it out in the finale with [Lars] Bak, [Maarten] Tjallingi… At no point did I think about the gap or the chasing riders. Anyway, the situation changes a lot. And as soon as there are only three or four of us in front, it’s a mano a mano.”
KM 242. THE RIGHT TURN ON THE CARREFOUR : „Tjallingi was five metres away“
„I felt really good. And I know the Carrefour de l’Arbre quite well, the corners, the first left-right… And after about a kilometre, there’s a left-hand bend… And that’s where I went really fast. Tjallingi was five metres from my wheel. He never came back. I had good legs, a clear head and my experience of Paris-Roubaix, the recons… Even today, you leave me in Troisvilles and I’ll take you to Roubaix, with my eyes closed! But there, I wasn’t at ease. In the last sector before Roubaix, my wheel hit a cobblestone. I thought to myself: ‘ouch…‘ And in the last three kilometres, my rim was touching the road. It was a bit of a panic, I was really stressed. On the videos, you can see that I entered the velodrome with a soft tubular. But it worked out.”
KM 256.5. ELATION IN ROUBAIX AND LOMMEL : „I bought a few tons of beer“
„It was total madness. I was so proud, so happy. When I signed my contract with Garmin, I told Vaughters: ‘I know I can’t win many races… But Roubaix, I can do it.’ Then, just because you can doesn’t mean you’re going to win! But at Roubaix, I knew I had a chance. The team organised dinner that evening, then we left around midnight. And when I arrived in my town [Lommel], there must have been 2,000 people in the streets. The police were there, the roads were blocked, there was the mayor, the TV cameras… I bought a few tons of beer, stayed for an hour, an hour and a half, and then went home. I was dead.“
Johan Vansummeren :
Born on 4th February 1981 in Lommel (Belgium)
9 participations in the Tour de France
9 participations in Paris-Roubaix :
• Winner in 2011 / 5th in 2009 / 8th in 2008 / 9th in 2012
• Winner of Tour de Pologne 2007 (stage 7 and general classification)
• Winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège Espoirs in 2003
ESCAPE FROM HELL – 2007 : STUART O’GRADY (II/V)
2007 : Stuart O’Grady (II/V)
In the end, it’s not always the strongest who wins. Certainly not in cycling, and most definitely not in Paris-Roubaix. On the roads of the Hell of the North, the „strongest“ can just as easily win in the legendary velodrome as get bogged down in the Trouée d’Arenberg. Year after year, the cobblestone crushers crash in the Mons-en-Pévèle sector or collapse in the Carrefour de l’Arbre – and one cannot underestimate the traps of the asphalt either. On these unique roads, an aspirant for glory needs to be strong, but also brave and lucky. Paris-Roubaix smiles on the bold, even those who have been out there the longest. In a race where chaos is always the order of the day, early attackers create unsuspected openings. Conquerors of the Hell of the North, they tell us about their heavenly day on the cobbles.
O’Grady: “It was like having an out-of-body experience“
Stuart O’Grady knew everything about how to power victory in a velodrome when he lined up at the start of Paris-Roubaix 2007, his “finest road result”. His last victory before he tamed the French Monument actually came in the Athens Olympic Velodrome, during the 2004 Games, where he won the Madison. In his 33rd Spring, the Australian veteran also had a wealth of experience to share in the Classics and he approached with high confidence his 9th participation in the Hell of the North, a week after finishing 10th in the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
These stripes didn’t make O’Grady a favourite to raise the famous winner’s cobble in the Vélodrome of Roubaix. In these years, all eyes turned to Fabian Cancellara – especially O’Grady’s, who was a teammate of the Swiss icon – and Tom Boonen, the two of them claiming seven victories in the nine editions raced between 2005 and 2013. It appeared the only way to escape their dominance was to anticipate, as O’Grady showed and Johan Vansummeren confirmed, in 2011.
On his special day, „Stuey“ the Aussie was greeted by exceptionally high temperatures in the North of France. He made the early breakaway to launch a trailblazing conquest. A puncture and a crash got in his way, the bigger guns got back to him… But O’Grady surged again on the Carrefour de l’Arbre. „Today, I was going to win or die trying“, he said as he became the first rider from Down Under to conquer Roubaix and its iconic Vélodrome.
Km 0. Let them go : “Everybody goes full gas in the first 15 kilometres”
“Fabian [Cancellara] was the protected rider, especially as the defending champion. I was more of a plan B, along with Lars Michaelsen and Matti Breschel. My objective was to get in the breakaway with a couple of teammates, to be ahead of the race, be ready to help Fabian deep in the finale. Getting in the break is probably one of the most difficult things to achieve. Every directeur sportif tells his riders he wants one or two of them in the breakaway. It’s very fast, it’s very hard. You need a lot of experience. Everybody goes full gas in the first 15 kilometres, which isn’t the best way to go about it. It’s more about picking your opportunities from that 16, 17km mark, when the road starts taking a few little small climbs, which makes a good launchpad to create a breakaway.”
Km 19. Feel the move : “Come on, it’s a good opportunity!”
“When the breakaway initially went, it had Luke Roberts and Matti Breschel in it. I thought it was a good group but I also thought I really need to be in it as well. I used my experience to jump across at a favourable moment and we were three riders. It was a real defining moment. It was very important for us to have multiple riders in the breakaway. Obviously, we didn’t realise it would be 30 riders, which kind of worked in our favour. I remember yelling at the riders: ‘Come on, it’s a good opportunity, the further we get ahead the better’. And I managed to get the breakaway very.
Km 163. Survive Arenberg : “I thought my race was finished”
“We were hoping to get to Arenberg and in the end, the breakaway went much further… But it didn’t work out like that for me. I was always entering the sectors first or second wheel, to chose my line, try to avoid stupid crashes or incidents. I was feeling really good. Everything was coming to plan. But I punctured in Arenberg. I was devastated, I thought my race was finished. But that’s where my experience from the previous Paris-Roubaix helped me. The younger Stuart would have tried to time trial back to that group and probably explode a few sections later. The more experienced Stuart went: ‘You know what, let’s just get to the end of the section, let’s get a musette…’ It was a very hot and dusty day, which made it really difficult to eat and drink. That puncture was probably a blessing in disguise.”
Km 215. Get Cancellara’s approval : “If you can, just go”
“Once I got caught, I spoke with Fabian. We shared room the night before and we were very close friends. I was told to attack on the next section… And I crashed on a corner, which was unusual. I was usually pretty good on the cobbles but I think with the pressure, having to attack for Fabian, I had a little lapse in concentration and I crashed. I was really mad at myself. I thought I had let Fabian down. With that anger, I rode back to the peloton. And that’s when Fabian said: ‘‘I’m not on a good day. You obviously are. If you can, just go.’”
Km 234. Go go go : “What have I done?”
“I followed Steffen Wesemann and Roger Hammond, who had just attacked. They rode me to the front of the race. At that moment, something inside my head just said: ‘Go’. I didn’t know how many kilometres were left to go, I didn’t know anything… I just saw the moment that everyone was really tired and they all kind of sat up. And at that moment, my head just said ‘attack, just go’. I saw an opportunity and then I saw the sign that said 25 kilometres to go… Holy shit, what have I done? But I felt really good on the Carrefour. My goal was to get a one-minute advantage. Then, the riders behind would start looking at each other and racing for the places of second and third.”
Km 259.5. Feel the legend : “Is this really happening?”
“It was like having an out-of-body experience. You’re racing, you’re off the front in Paris-Roubaix, and you’re kind of asking: ‘Is this really happening?’ Your legs are on the verge of cramping. Your arms are absolutely wrecked. Your neck, everything is hurting. But I guess that desire, that will to win, is just screaming at you: ‘Just keep going there, this is your day!’ It doesn’t happen very often in your career, at least it didn’t happen very often in my career! So I pushed as hard as I could push and it worked. The winner’s cobble is the only trophy I have on display at my home, in Australia. It’s in the entrance and I still touch it most days. It brings back a lot of incredible memories.”
Stuart O’Grady :
• Born on 6 August 1973 in Adelaide (Australia)
• Director of the Santos Tour Down Under
17 participations in the Tour de France :
• 2 stage wins (1998, 2004) / 9 Yellow jerseys (1998, 2001)
14 participations in Paris-Roubaix :
• Winner in 2007 / 5th in 2008
• Track Olympic Champion in 2004
• 3rd of Milano-Sanremo 2004
• 3rd of the Ronde van Vlaanderen 2003
• 3rd of Paris-Tours 2003 and 2006
Escape from Hell – 1988 : Dirk Demol (I/V)
1988 : Dirk Demol (I/V)
In the end, it’s not always the strongest who wins. Certainly not in cycling, and most definitely not in Paris-Roubaix. On the roads of the Hell of the North, the „strongest“ can just as easily win in the legendary velodrome as get bogged down in the Trouée d’Arenberg. Year after year, the cobblestone crushers crash in the Mons-en-Pévèle sector or collapse in the Carrefour de l’Arbre – and one cannot underestimate the traps of the asphalt either. On these unique roads, an aspirant for glory needs to be strong, but also brave and lucky. Paris-Roubaix smiles on the bold, even those who have been out there the longest. In a race where chaos is always the order of the day, early attackers create unsuspected openings. Conquerors of the Hell of the North, they tell us about their heavenly day on the cobbles.
Dirk Demol : “When De Vlaeminck told me we were gonna stay away…”
Numbers hardly break down the brutality and magnificence of Paris-Roubaix. 120 editions held since the first one, in 1896. Some 250 kilometres of racing, with over 50 kilometres of cobblestones in the modern version of the „Hell of the North“, featuring sectors classified from one to five stars, based on the challenge they represent. Countless feats and even more dreams shattered. And extraordinary breakaways, since the French Monument ignites a special fire within the most daring attackers. How long was the longest successful breakaway in the history of Paris-Roubaix? „We did 222 kilometres at the front“, the winner of the 1988 edition Dirk Demol recalls. That year, his team AD Renting had come with a hot favourite: Eddy Planckaert. They had stellar rivals: Sean Kelly, Laurent Fignon, Marc Madiot, Eric Vanderaerden… But it was the „manneke“ („little guy“) Demol – hailing from Kuurne, some 25km away from Roubaix – who surged to an unexpected triumph, getting the better of his breakaway companions while resisting the bigger guns. „Numbers are unforgiving“, Jean-Marie Leblanc wrote on his way to Kuurne, as he pondered for L’Équipe the mathematical impossibility for Fignon to bridge a gap of 2’52“ in the very last kilometres. The Frenchman eventually crossed the line in 3rd position, 1’55“ after Demol. Fignon never got the numbers right in Roubaix while Leblanc went on to steer the French Monument, as well as the Tour de France. As for Demol, he now shares his unique insights as a sports director for Lotto Dstny after he worked with icons such as Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara.
KM 0. Go to the front : “I was covering the early breaks for Planckaert”
“Roubaix has always been my favourite race. I remember doing it with the Belgian national team as an Under 23 in 1980. Back then, you had to wait for a letter in the mail and I was so happy when I read I was gonna do Roubaix! I finished 2nd in a sprint against Stephen Roche, with a similar scenario to my victory in 1988. It was a long breakaway, gone before the first cobblestones, and we had the same number of riders at the front – 13 – until it gradually came down to only two. Then, I got to do it as a professional. In 1988, I was covering the early breaks with another Belgian teammate, Luc Colyn, for our leader Eddy Planckaert, who had won the Tour of Flanders a week earlier. We wanted to have somebody up there so we could avoid chasing in the bunch. There were many attempts and I was somehow lucky because I was eventually part of it when the breakaway went after some 40 kilometres of racing.”
Km44. Make the most of the break : “I was lucky to be with Thomas Turbo”
“We had quite a big group and I was already thinking my director would be happy with the job I had done. Of course, you pull. But you stay on the reserve, because you have to be able to help your leader if he comes later. I wasn’t strong enough to be a leader, not physically, not mentally. When I was on a good day, I made the top 10 of several semi-classics. But I never raced the finale of a big Classic, except for that year in Roubaix. I was lucky to be up there with Thomas Wegmuller. We used to call him Thomas Turbo, or Terminator, because he was always going full gas. A couple of years later, he attacked with Jacky Durand in the Tour of Flanders and they stayed away as well. But I was also the only one able to go with him. Gerard Veldschoten was in the breakaway, Allan Peiper… When these guys were dropped, I figured we were going really fast.”
KM 220. Listen to Mr Paris-Roubaix : “I can do it!”
“My first leader when I turned professional, in 1982, was Roger De Vlaeminck, Monsieur Paris-Roubaix. If he liked a young rider, he would teach you. In Roubaix, positioning is essential. I also learned from Roger how to go smooth over the cobbles. In 1988, with about 45 km to go, press cars moved past them. One of them slowed down as they passed us… Roger was their guest. He rolled down his window and told me: ‘‘Dirk, you know, you’re gonna stay away! It’s still three minutes. It’s the chance of your life to win.’ From that moment, I went all in. In races, I was often doubting. But that day… For some reason, I was thinking: ‘Ok, Roger said we can stay away, I feel good… I can do it!’ On every level, physically, mentally, it was the kind of day a rider likes me maybe gets once in their career. I also knew Thomas couldn’t sprint at all while I could defend myself, especially in small groups. And the wind had blown a plastic bag in his derailleur. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and everything came together.”
KM 266. Step into the legend : „It’s true, I won Roubaix!”
“When you cross the line, you don’t really realise. Especially someone like me, a gregario, a domestique… It was already my 7th year as a pro. I went to the podium, then I had to speak to the media, do the doping control… My best supporter was there, picking me up to bring me home. We had a small fan club in a café. And it was incredible how excited everyone was. At some point in the night – I stayed celebrating with them until 3 or 4 AM, even Jean-Marie Leblanc was there as a journalist for L’Équipe – they brought me the newspapers from Monday. I was on the front page and then I said: ‘Yes, it’s true, I won Roubaix!’ I went to bed, I was so tired but I couldn’t sleep: ‚is it true? did I dream?‘ It was a dream indeed.”
Gent-Wevelgem 2024
MEN – 253 Km
1 PEDERSEN Mads DEN Lidl-Trek 05:36:00
2 VAN DER POEL Mathieu NED Alpecin-Deceuninck 00:00
3 MEEUS Jordi BEL BORA-hansgrohe 01:16
4 PHILIPSEN Jasper BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck 02:16
5 MILAN Jonathan ITA Lidl-Trek 03:16
6 KOOIJ Olav NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike 04:16
7 GIRMAY Biniam ERI Intermarché-Wanty 05:16
8 MERLIER Tim BEL Soudal Quick-Step 06:16
9 GROENEWEGEN Dylan NED Team Jayco-AlUla 07:16
10 TRENTIN Matteo ITA Tudor Pro Cycling Team 08:16
11 NAESEN Oliver BEL Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 09:16
12 BISSEGGER Stefan SUI EF Education-EasyPost 10:16
13 MOHORIC Matej SLO Bahrain Victorious 11:16
14 KÜNG Stefan SUI Groupama-FDJ 12:16
15 MOZZATO Luca ITA ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 13:16
16 REX Laurenz BEL Intermarché-Wanty 14:16
17 STRONG Corbin NZL Israel-Premier Tech 15:16
18 MAYRHOFER Marius GER Tudor Pro Cycling Team 16:16
19 BJERG Mikkel DEN UAE Team Emirates 17:16
20 ABRAHAMSEN Jonas NOR Uno-X Mobility 18:16
21 WRIGHT Fred GBR Bahrain Victorious 19:16
22 LIENHARD Fabian SUI Groupama-FDJ 20:16
23 TILLER Rasmus NOR Uno-X Mobility 21:16
24 DUJARDIN Sandy FRA TotalEnergies 22:16
25 TURNER Ben GBR INEOS Grenadiers 23:16
26 PITHIE Laurence NZL Groupama-FDJ 24:16
27 POLITT Nils GER UAE Team Emirates 25:16
28 RENARD Alexis FRA Cofidis 26:16
29 ALLEGAERT Piet BEL Cofidis 27:16
30 MALECKI Kamil POL Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 28:16
31 WALSCHEID Max GER Team Jayco-AlUla 29:16
Jordi Meeus sprintet bei Gent-Wevelgem auf Platz 3
Mit Gent-Wevelgem (UCI 1.UWT) stand heute der nächste Kopfsteinpflaster-Klassiker im Rennkalender der UCI WorldTour. Das 253km lange Rennen war geprägt von schwierigen Windverhältnissen und ständigen Attacken. Am Ende kamen M. van der Poel und M. Pedersen als Duo zur Ziellinie, wobei sich Pedersen den Sieg sicherte. Dahinter leistete BORA – hansgrohe perfekte Vorarbeit für Jordi Meeus, der im Sprint um Platz 3 der Schnellste war.
Reaktionen im Ziel
„Ein schönes und wichtiges Podium für mich. Ich konnte während der Windstaffel in die erste Gruppe springen und so etwas Energie sparen. Danach hieß es für mich einfach, die Kemmelberg-Überfahrten zu überleben. Ich wollte sehen, wie weit ich dieses Jahr bei den Klassikern kommen kann. Ein 3. Platz hinter Mathieu und Mads bei Gent-Wevelgem fühlt sich ziemlich gut an!“ Jordi Meeus
„Speziell aufgrund der Windverhältnisse war es ein sehr stressiger Tag. Heute hat für uns sehr viel geklappt, die Jungs sind richtig schlau gefahren. Wir waren vor jedem Anstieg gut positioniert und konnten so einige Körner sparen. Mathieu und Mads waren wieder in einer anderen Liga unterwegs; dahinter haben wir versucht, deren Vorsprung in Grenzen zu halten, um im Finale noch die Chance auf den Sprint ums Podium zu wahren. Mit Jordi auf Platz 3 können wir mehr als zufrieden sein – ich bin stolz auf die Jungs!“ Heinrich Haussler, Sportlicher Leiter
Women – 171 Km
1 WIEBES Lorena NED Team SD Worx-Protime 04:16:19
2 BALSAMO Elisa ITA Lidl-Trek 00:00
3 CONSONNI Chiara ITA UAE Team ADQ 00:00
4 KOOL Charlotte NED Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 00:00
5 CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia ITA Uno-X Mobility 00:00
6 SIERRA Arlenis CUB Movistar Team 00:00
7 PIETERSE Puck NED Fenix-Deceuninck 00:00
8 DE JONG Thalita NED Lotto Dstny Ladies 00:00
9 SCHWEINBERGER Christina AUT Fenix-Deceuninck 00:00
10 COLES-LYSTER Maggie CAN Roland 00:00
11 VANPACHTENBEKE Margot BEL VolkerWessels Pro Cycling Team 00:00
12 RIEDMANN Linda GER Team Visma | Lease a Bike 00:00
13 LE COURT Kim MRI AG Insurance-Soudal Team 00:00
14 BERTEAU Victoire FRA Cofidis Women Team 00:00
15 BERTON Nina LUX Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling 00:00
16 BOILARD Simone CAN Uno-X Mobility 00:00
17 DRONOVA Tamara RUS Roland 00:00
18 MACKAIJ Floortje NED Movistar Team 00:00
19 KOPECKY Lotte BEL Team SD Worx-Protime 00:00
20 BUJAK Eugenia SLO UAE Team ADQ 00:00
E3 Saxo Classic – 208 Km
1 VAN DER POEL Mathieu NED Alpecin-Deceuninck 04:39:28
2 STUYVEN Jasper BEL Lidl-Trek 01:31
3 VAN AERT Wout BEL Team Visma | Lease a Bike 01:34
4 WELLENS Tim BEL UAE Team Emirates 01:48
5 JORGENSON Matteo USA Team Visma | Lease a Bike 01:50
6 NARVAEZ Jhonnatan ECU INEOS Grenadiers 01:52
7 POLITT Nils GER UAE Team Emirates 02:48
8 SKUJINS Toms LAT Lidl-Trek 02:48
9 ALBANESE Vincenzo ITA ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 02:48
10 KIRSCH Alex LUX Lidl-Trek 02:48
11 PEDERSEN Mads DEN Lidl-Trek 02:54
12 ABRAHAMSEN Jonas NOR Uno-X Mobility 02:54
13 VAN MOER Brent BEL Lotto Dstny 02:54
14 LAZKANO Oier ESP Movistar Team 02:54
15 MOHORIC Matej SLO Bahrain Victorious 02:54
16 KÜNG Stefan SUI Groupama-FDJ 02:54
17 NEILANDS Krists LAT Israel-Premier Tech 02:54
18 DE PESTEL Sander BEL Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 02:58
19 GIRMAY Biniam ERI Intermarché-Wanty 03:07
20 WRIGHT Fred GBR Bahrain Victorious 03:45
21 MOZZATO Luca ITA ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 04:15
22 SHEEHAN Riley USA Israel-Premier Tech 04:15
23 TRENTIN Matteo ITA Tudor Pro Cycling Team 04:15
24 VAN ASBROECK Tom BEL Israel-Premier Tech 04:15
25 NAESEN Oliver BEL Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 04:15
26 HALLER Marco AUT BORA-hansgrohe 04:15
Milano-Sanremo – 288 Km
Plomi Foto
1 PHILIPSEN Jasper BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck 06:14:44
2 MATTHEWS Michael AUS Team Jayco-AlUla 00:00
3 POGACAR Tadej SLO UAE Team Emirates 00:00
4 PEDERSEN Mads DEN Lidl-Trek 00:00
5 BETTIOL Alberto ITA EF Education-EasyPost 00:00
6 MOHORIC Matej SLO Bahrain Victorious 00:00
7 VAN GILS Maxim BEL Lotto Dstny 00:00
8 STUYVEN Jasper BEL Lidl-Trek 00:00
9 ALAPHILIPPE Julian FRA Soudal Quick-Step 00:00
10 VAN DER POEL Mathieu BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck 00:00
11 PIDCOCK Tom GBR INEOS Grenadiers 00:00
12 SOBRERO Matteo ITA BORA-hansgrohe 00:00
13 PEDERSEN Casper DEN Soudal Quick-Step 00:35
14 KOOIJ Olav NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike 00:35
15 PITHIE Laurence NZL Groupama-FDJ 00:35
16 ASGREEN Kasper DEN Soudal Quick-Step 00:35
17 STRONG Corbin NZL Israel-Premier Tech 00:35
18 CLARKE Simon AUS Israel-Premier Tech 00:35
19 PACHER Quentin FRA Groupama-FDJ 00:35
20 COSNEFROY Benoît FRA Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 00:35
21 TRENTIN Matteo ITA Tudor Pro Cycling Team 00:35
22 BATTISTELLA Samuele ITA Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:35
23 KÜNG Stefan SUI Groupama-FDJ 00:35
24 ALBANESE Vincenzo ITA ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 00:35
25 VELASCO Simone ITA Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:35
26 SERRANO Gonzalo ESP Movistar Team 00:35
27 GIRMAY Biniam ERI Intermarché-Wanty 00:35
28 DE PRETTO Davide ITA Team Jayco-AlUla 00:35
29 CAMPENAERTS Victor BEL Lotto Dstny 00:35
30 WRIGHT Fred GBR Bahrain Victorious 00:35
31 KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren DEN Alpecin-Deceuninck 00:35
32 SKUJINS Toms LAT Lidl-Trek 00:35
33 EIKING Odd Christian NOR Uno-X Mobility 00:35
34 ABRAHAMSEN Jonas NOR Uno-X Mobility 00:35
35 NARVAEZ Jhonnatan ECU INEOS Grenadiers 00:35
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Frauen 127 Km:
1 VOS Marianne NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike 03:27:15
2 KOPECKY Lotte BEL Team SD Worx-Protime 00:00
3 LONGO BORGHINI Elisa ITA Lidl-Trek 00:00
4 VAN ANROOIJ Shirin NED Lidl-Trek 00:00
5 DE JONG Thalita NED Lotto Dstny Ladies 01:08
6 VOLLERING Demi NED Team SD Worx-Protime 01:08
7 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna POL CANYON//SRAM Racing 01:08
8 PIETERSE Puck NED Fenix-Deceuninck 01:08
9 WIEBES Lorena NED Team SD Worx-Protime 01:53
10 BALSAMO Elisa ITA Lidl-Trek 02:08
11 NORSGAARD Emma DEN Movistar Team 02:08
12 ROY Sarah AUS Cofidis Women Team 02:08
13 GEORGI Pfeiffer GBR Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 02:08
14 SWINKELS Karlijn NED UAE Team ADQ 02:08
15 SCHWEINBERGER Christina AUT Fenix-Deceuninck 02:08
Männer ELITE 202Km:
1 TRATNIK Jan SLO Team Visma | Lease a Bike 04:31:27
2 POLITT Nils GER UAE Team Emirates 00:03
3 VAN AERT Wout BEL Team Visma | Lease a Bike 00:08
4 NAESEN Oliver BEL Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 00:08
5 LAPORTE Christophe FRA Team Visma | Lease a Bike 00:08
6 REX Laurenz BEL Intermarché-Wanty 00:08
7 STUYVEN Jasper BEL Lidl-Trek 00:08
8 PIDCOCK Tom GBR INEOS Grenadiers 00:08
9 TRENTIN Matteo ITA Tudor Pro Cycling Team 00:08
10 DE LIE Arnaud BEL Lotto Dstny 00:08
11 GAUTHERAT Pierre FRA Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 00:08
12 WELLENS Tim BEL UAE Team Emirates 00:08
13 TEUNISSEN Mike NED Intermarché-Wanty 00:08
14 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR Uno-X Mobility 00:08
15 GARCÍA CORTINA Iván ESP Movistar Team 00:08
16 KÜNG Stefan SUI Groupama-FDJ 00:08
17 BIERMANS Jenthe BEL ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 00:08
18 VERMEERSCH Gianni BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck 00:08
19 DE BONDT Dries BEL Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 00:08
Paris-Roubaix et Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift : team selection
The organisers of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift have selected the teams for the 4th edition, Saturday, April 6th.
In accordance with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) regulations, the fifteen UCI Women’s WorldTeams automatically entered are:
AG Insurance – Soudal Team (Bel)
Canyon / / SRAM Racing (Ger)
Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team (Ger)
FDJ – Suez (Fra)
Fenix – Deceuninck (Bel)
Human Powered Health (Usa)
Lidl-Trek (Usa)
Liv-AlUla-Jayco (Aus)
Movistar Team (Esp)
Roland (Sui)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL (Ned)
Team SD Worx-Pro Time (Ned)
Team Visma | Lease a Bike (Ned)
UAE Team ADQ (Uae)
Uno-X Mobility (Nor)
Furthermore, the best 2023 UCI Women’s Continental teams will participate by right in Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift :
Cofidis (Fra)
The organisers have invited the following teams:
Arkéa-B&B Hôtels Women (Fra)
EF Education-Cannondale (Usa)
LifePlus Wahoo (Gbr)
St Michel – Mavic – Auber 93 (Fra)
Team Coop-Repsol (Nor)
Team Komugi-Grand Est (Fra)
Volkerwessel Women’s Pro Cycling Team (Ned)
Winspace (Fra)
PARIS-ROUBAIX: TEAM SELECTION
The organisers of Paris-Roubaix have selected the teams for the 121th edition, Sunday, April 7th.
In accordance with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rules, the eighteen UCI WorldTeams are invited:
Alpecin-Deceuninck (Bel)
Arkéa-B&B Hôtels (Fra)
Astana Qazaqstan Team (Kaz)
Bahrain Victorious (Brn)
Bora-Hansgrohe (All)
Cofidis (Fra)
Décathlon Ag2r La Mondiale Team (Fra)
EF Education-Easypost (Usa)
Groupama-FDJ (Fra)
Ineos Grenadiers (Gbr)
Intermarché-Wanty (Bel)
Lidl-Trek (Usa)
Movistar Team (Esp)
Soudal Quick-Step (Bel)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL (Ned)
Team Jayco AlUla (Aus)
Team Visma | Lease a Bike (Ned)
UAE Team Emirates (Uae)
Furthermore, the three highest ranked UCI ProTeams in 2023 will participate by right in Paris-Roubaix:
Lotto Dstny (Bel)
Israel Premier Tech (Isr)
Uno-X Mobility (Nor)
The organisers have invited the following teams:
Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB (Bel)
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (Sui)
Team Flanders-Baloise (Bel)
TotalEnergies (Fra)
2024 ARDENNES CLASSICS:
Key points:
As a special „treat“ for the 40th finish of La Flèche Wallonne atop the Mur de Huy, the peloton will tackle the brutal ascent of the Chemin des Chapelles on four occasions for the very first time. Another major change to the programme for Wednesday, 17 April is that the women will start in the early afternoon and finish an hour after the men at the end of an extended course (143.5 km).
The programme for Sunday, 21 April has also been inverted. Remco Evenepoel and his rivals will lead the vanguard to the Ardent City for the 110th edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège. A while later, the women will follow the same course from Bastogne to Liège (147.6 km), clashing on climbs such as the Côte de Cornémont, which comes between La Redoute and the Côte des Forges.
25 squads —including four wildcard teams— of seven riders each will make up the 175-strong pelotons of La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, while 144 cyclists representing 24 outfits will get to grips with La Flèche Wallonne Femmes and Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes.
Once a year, the roads of the Province of Liège lead to Huy and Liège and rekindle the fire of the Ardennes classics, a sequence of races that have gone down in cycling history. First raced in 1936 (on a course from Tournai to Liège), La Flèche Wallonne went through a watershed moment in 1985, when it moved its finish line to the summit of the Mur de Huy. The upcoming 88th edition, scheduled for 17 April 2024, will therefore be the 40th time that the race culminates on an ascent that immediately earned a spot among the toughest climbs in pro cycling.
To mark the occasion, the final circuit has been compacted to 31.6 km, with the Côte d’Ereffe and the Mur de Huy as the pièces de résistance. For the first time ever, the riders will have to drag their bicycles up these slopes (1.3 km at an average gradient of 9.6%, peaking at close to 20%, most notably on the Claudy Criquielion turn, named for the first victor on the Mur) an eye-watering four times! The successor to Tadej Pogacar, who clinched his first victory in 2023, will blast across the finish line around 4:30 pm, after 199.1 km of racing from Charleroi, which will host the start of the race for the 30th time.
Minutes after the gripping finale of the men’s race, the stars of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes will embark on their own adventure to tame the Mur too, in keeping with a fine tradition that goes all the way back to 1998. As usual, the women’s race will roll out of the Grand-Place in Huy, but the start of the 28th edition has been moved to 2 pm so that the crowds can give them a wild reception around 6 pm. On their way to the Mur, they will discover new ascents in Gives, Courrière and Évrehailles, coming at the beginning of a course that will be about 15 kilometres longer (143.5 km).
The order of the races will also be switched around on Sunday, 21 April. Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes will start in the early afternoon and draw to a close about an hour and a half after the Old Lady. Remco Evenepoel, eager to join Léon Houa, Eddy Merckx and Moreno Argentin in the ultra-select club of riders who have won the race three times in a row since its inaugural edition in 1892, will face the same climbs that sent him on a trajectory to his second triumph in 2023, including the detour to Cornémont, just after La Redoute, where he left Tom Pidcock in the dust.
Heading out from Bastogne, the women’s peloton will follow the very same route to Quai des Ardennes: a 147.6 km roller coaster peppered with nine climbs, starting with the Côte de Saint-Roch and also featuring the Wanne–Stockeu–Haute-Levée triptych before the Côte de La Roche-aux-Faucons, the last major challenge of the day. At the end of the adventure, glory awaits in the Ardent City.
Il Lombardia – 238 Km
HERBERT MOOS Archivfoto
1 POGACAR Tadej BEL UAE Team Emirates 05:55:33
2 BAGIOLI Andrea ITA Soudal Quick-Step 00:52
3 ROGLIC Primoz SLO Jumbo-Visma 00:52
4 VLASOV Aleksandr RUS BORA-hansgrohe 00:52
5 YATES Simon GBR Team Jayco-AlUla 00:52
6 YATES Adam GBR UAE Team Emirates 00:52
7 RODRIGUEZ Carlos ESP INEOS Grenadiers 00:52
8 CARAPAZ Richard ECU EF Education-EasyPost 01:06
9 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL Soudal Quick-Step 01:26
10 KRON Andreas DEN Lotto Dstny 01:26
11 BARDET Romain FRA Team dsm-firmenich 01:26
12 WOODS Michael CAN Israel-Premier Tech 01:26
13 COSTA Rui POR Intermarché-Circus-Wanty 01:26
14 VAN GILS Maxim BEL Lotto Dstny 01:30
15 SCHULTZ Nick AUS Israel-Premier Tech 01:50
16 BERTHET Clément FRA AG2R Citroën Team 01:50
17 HARPER Chris AUS Team Jayco-AlUla 01:50
18 FORTUNATO Lorenzo ITA EOLO-Kometa 01:50
19 HIRSCHI Marc SUI UAE Team Emirates 02:08
20 MASNADA Fausto ITA Soudal Quick-Step 02:10
21 TIBERI Antonio ITA Bahrain Victorious 02:30
22 VALTER Attila HUN Jumbo-Visma 02:56
23 JORGENSON Matteo USA Movistar Team 03:02
24 BARGUIL Warren FRA Team Arkéa-Samsic 03:43
25 MAJKA Rafal POL UAE Team Emirates 03:43
26 CHAMPOUSSIN Clément FRA Team Arkéa-Samsic 03:43
27 MADOUAS Valentin FRA Groupama-FDJ 03:43
28 PIGANZOLI Davide ITA EOLO-Kometa 03:43
29 OLDANI Stefano ITA Alpecin-Deceuninck 05:23
30 HEALY Ben IRL EF Education-EasyPost 05:35