Schlagwort-Archive: ASO

Fleche Wallone 2024 146km Frauen

Eintagsrennen, Ergebnisse, Frauenradsport, Frühjahrskassiker, Strassenrennen, , , , , ,


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Foto von HERBERT MOOS

Few victories are as exciting and as meaningful as the one Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) scored today in the 27th edition of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes. The Polish rider defeated 2023 winner Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx-ProTime) and Italian national champion Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) in the final climb to the Mur de Huy to finally net her first win after a 1770-day drought. It has taken her 53rd top5 placings, including a 2nd position on the 2021 edition of this very race, to finally raise her arms in victory again. ‘Kasia’ exploded in tears after the finish line, leaving an emotional lesson: she who perseveres, succeeds.

139 riders started the 27th edition of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes at 14:02 from Huy’s Grand-Place, taking on a 146-kilometre course to finish atop the iconic Mur de Huy. A rain shower turned into a snow fall as temperatures froze down to 5ºC, creating some hard weather conditions that would prove impactful in the unfolding of the race. Arkéa-Samsic’s Maaike Coljé was the first to abandon following a crash in the neutral zone. No breakaway went clear as the Côte de Gives (km 7,1 – 2,1 km at 5,5%) and Côte de Courrière (km 37,6 – 1,4 km at 7,1%) were ridden and left behind, creating some damage as pre-race favorites like Mavi García (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) struggled to keep up with the peloton’s pace.

A three-woman breakaway set the tone
Sara Martín (Movistar Team), Julie Van de Velde (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) and Elena Hartmann (Roland) attacked and went clear at kilometer 40, clocking a 1’40” advantage on the pack atop the Côte d’Evrehailles (km 53,4). The weather got better, from rainy and cold to just cloudy, as 89 kilometres into the race their gap topped at 4’25”, with Visma | Lease a Bike at the helm in the bunch. It was in the Côte d’Ereffe (km 101,4 – 2,1 km at 5%) that the peloton woke up. FDJ-SUEZ’s Grace Brown and Fenix-Deceuninck’s Pauline Rooijakkers took off and crested the climb 3’35” behind the front trio, with the peloton 10 seconds further back.

Everything up for grabs at the Mur de Huy
The first climb to the Mur de Huy (km 114,3 – 1,3 km at 9,6%) proved too demanding for Hartmann, who left Van de Velde and Martín alone at the head of the race. Across the summit, they had 2’09” on Brown and Rooijakkers and 2’32” on a 50-strong peloton led by SD Worx-ProTime. The chasing duo was reeled in with 17 kilometres to go by a peloton that was just 1’20” behind the head of the race at that point following a coordinated effort by Canyon//SRAM and the aforementioned SD Worx-ProTime. Several attacks happened up the Côte d’Ereffe (km 133,1 – 2,1 km at 5%) as the front duo was swept up and a 50-strong group was left at the head of the race. Riejanne Markus (Visma | Lease a Bike) put on a solo attack with 5 kilometres to go that stuck until the foot of the Mur de Huy. She was caught with 700 meters to go by Demi Vollering (SD Worx-ProTime), who marshalled the main group until Niewiadoma’s final, winning acceleration 200 meters from the finish.


Foto von HERBERT MOOS

1 KATARZYNA NIEWIADOMA 71 CANYON//SRAM RACING 03h 55′ 29“
2 DEMI VOLLERING 1 TEAM SD WORX – PROTIME 03h 55′ 31“ + 00h 00′ 02“
3 ELISA LONGO BORGHINI 24 LIDL – TREK 03h 55′ 33“ + 00h 00′ 04“
4 EVITA MUZIC 45 FDJ-SUEZ 03h 55′ 36“ + 00h 00′ 07“
5 ASHLEIGH MOOLMAN PASIO 51 AG INSURANCE – SOUDAL TEAM 03h 55′ 40“ + 00h 00′ 11“
6 PAULIENA ROOIJAKKERS 85 FENIX-DECEUNINCK 03h 55′ 44“ + 00h 00′ 15“
7 JULIETTE LABOUS 91 TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL 03h 55′ 48“ + 00h 00′ 19“
8 FEM VAN EMPEL 121 TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE 03h 55′ 53“ + 00h 00′ 24“
9 MARTA CAVALLI 41 FDJ-SUEZ 03h 55′ 56“ + 00h 00′ 27“
10 ANE SANTESTEBAN GONZALEZ 211 LABORAL KUTXA – FUNDACION EUSKADI 03h 55′ 56“ + 00h 00′ 27“
11 GRETA MARTURANO 83 FENIX-DECEUNINCK 03h 55′ 59“ + 00h 00′ 30“ – –
12 OLIVIA BARIL 11 MOVISTAR TEAM 03h 56′ 01“ + 00h 00′ 32“ – –
13 INGVILD GÅSKJENN 33 LIV-ALULA-JAYCO 03h 56′ 03“ + 00h 00′ 34“ – –
14 KATRINE AALERUD 112 UNO-X MOBILITY 03h 56′ 04“ + 00h 00′ 35“ – –
15 LOTTE KOPECKY 5 TEAM SD WORX – PROTIME 03h 56′ 04“ + 00h 00′ 35“ – –
16 MAREILLE MEIJERING 14 MOVISTAR TEAM 03h 56′ 04“ + 00h 00′ 35“ – –
17 RIEJANNE MARKUS 123 TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE 03h 56′ 04“ + 00h 00′ 35“ – –
18 YARA KASTELIJN 81 FENIX-DECEUNINCK 03h 56′ 12“ + 00h 00′ 43“ – –
19 ALENA IVANCHENKO 66 UAE TEAM ADQ 03h 56′ 12“ + 00h 00′ 43“ – –
20 HENRIETTA CHRISTIE 171 HUMAN POWERED HEALTH 03h 56′ 14“ + 00h 00′ 45“

Fleche Wallone 2024 199km Männer

Eintagsrennen, Ergebnisse, Frühjahrskassiker, Strassenrennen, Weltcup und Klassiker, , , , ,


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Foto von HERBERT MOOS

Stephen Williams (Israel – Premier Tech) took victory in the 2024 La Flèche Wallonne, making history by becoming the first British winner of the race, with a brilliantly timed finish on the fourth climb of the Mur de Huy. After a race which saw sunshine, torrential rain and even snow, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkea – B&B Hotels) and Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) were also on the podium, after crossing the finish line in second and third respectively, closely behind the victorious Williams.

A 30th start in Charleroi
174 riders took the start of the 88th edition of the Flèche Wallonne, as Charleroi hosted the start of the race for the 30th time. The 2024 midweek Ardennes classic marked the 40th finish of La Flèche Wallonne atop the Mur de Huy, with the peloton taking on the brutal climb of the famous Chemin des Chapelles on four occasions for the first time ever. Ben Hermans (Cofidis) was finally unable to take the start, in what would have been his 12th participation at Flèche Wallonne, having achieved his best result of 14th on his debut in 2009.

Six riders clear at the front
At km 11 Igor Chzhan (Astana) and Johan Meens (Bingoal WB) joined the four riders already at the front, Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Wanty), Alan Jousseaume (TotalEnergies), James Whelan (Q.365) and Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), who had been the first attacker in the first kilometre. Aaron Van der Beken (Bingoal WB) tried to go with Meens in the chase to the front group but finally dropped back. Juaristi was also the first rider to reach the summit of Côte d’Yvoir at km 42.7 and the six man breakaway had established an advantage of 4’30“ over the peloton after 50 km of racing.

Difficult weather conditions
The breakaway riders were absolutely drenched by torrential rain as they rode into Huy for the first time and there was even some snowfall. Whelan struggled for several minutes to get his jacket on correctly, but finally managed to do so before the Mur de Huy, although he briefly lost some ground on the other five in the break. As the peloton reached the top of the Mur de Huy for the first of four climbs of this famous ascent, they reduced the gap to the breakaway to 2’. That first ascent of the Mur saw a group of several riders dropped by the peloton, including Aleksandr Vlasov (BORA – hansgrohe) and Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step). After the first Mur de Huy climb Jousseaume was back in the peloton after more than 100km in the breakaway, whilst Dylan Teuns (Israel – Premier Tech), the winner of the 2022 edition, was dropped by the peloton with 75km to go.

Mur de Huy takes its toll
A reduced breakaway of Calmejane, Meens and Juaristi were swallowed up by the bunch, before the riders tackled the Mur de Huuy for the second time. This time it was the big favourites who lost contact with the main peloton: Marc Hirschi, Tom Pidcock, Mattias Skjelmose and David Gaudu were excluded from the group. Valentin Madouas, who took the lead at the Mur summit (km 135.3), was one of the most aggressive, but Soren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin – Deceuninck) launched into a solo attack 60 km from the finish. With 46km of racing to go there were only around 30 riders left in the peloton and they were 1’ behind the solo race leader Kragh Andersen. Meanwhile Markus Hoelgaard (Uno-X Mobility) briefly got 20″ in front of the bunch trying to chase down Kragh Andersen, but his attempt to do so did not last long.

Amazing effort by Kragh Andersen
On the penultimate climb of the Mur Kragh Andersen crossed the summit 1’ ahead of Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education – EasyPost), 1’05“ ahead of the peloton led by Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa – B&B Hotels). Israel – Premier Tech’s Stephen Williams went on the offensive with 28km to go, chasing Kragh Andersen, then a quartet composed of Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny), Vauquelin, Buitrago and Carapaz joined Williams in the chase. Those five chasers were caught by the peloton 17 km from the finish. Kragh Andersen was in turn caught by the peloton on the final Côte d’Ereffe climb with just under 15 km to go, having spent 46 km solo at the front of the race.

Williams is the winner
The 2024 winner Williams timed a late attack perfectly and ultimately shot across the finish line at the top one of the hardest climbs in pro cycling after 198.6km of racing with his historic performance, getting the better of a strong group of 31 riders who battled it out on the Mur de Huy. Vauquelin was so close to the victory, as Williams was just too strong for him in the final metres, with Van Gils in third, followed over the line by Benoit Cosnefroy in fourth and Buitrago in fifth.


Foto von HERBERT MOOS

1 STEPHEN WILLIAMS 37 ISRAEL – PREMIER TECH 04h 40′ 24“
2 KÉVIN VAUQUELIN 81 ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 04h 40′ 24“
3 MAXIM VAN GILS 61 LOTTO DSTNY 04h 40′ 27“ + 00h 00′ 03“
4 BENOIT COSNEFROY 191 DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM 04h 40′ 27“ + 00h 00′ 03“
5 SANTIAGO BUITRAGO 103 BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 04h 40′ 27“ + 00h 00′ 03“
6 TOBIAS HALLAND JOHANNESSEN 111 UNO-X MOBILITY 04h 40′ 34“ + 00h 00′ 10“
7 ROMAIN GREGOIRE 163 GROUPAMA-FDJ 04h 40′ 34“ + 00h 00′ 10“
9 TIESJ BENOOT 51 TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE 04h 40′ 34“ + 00h 00′ 10“
10 GUILLAUME MARTIN 46 COFIDIS 04h 40′ 34“ + 00h 00′ 10“
11 CLÉMENT CHAMPOUSSIN 83 ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 04h 40′ 40“ + 00h 00′ 16“
12 TOMS SKUJINS 17 LIDL-TREK 04h 40′ 42“ + 00h 00′ 18“
13 RICHARD CARAPAZ 141 EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 04h 40′ 44“ + 00h 00′ 20“
14 JORDAN JEGAT 185 TOTALENERGIES 04h 40′ 47“ + 00h 00′ 23“
15 VALENTIN MADOUAS 164 GROUPAMA-FDJ 04h 40′ 48“ + 00h 00′ 24“
16 ILAN VAN WILDER 26 SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 04h 40′ 48“ + 00h 00′ 24“
17 ODD CHRISTIAN EIKING 113 UNO-X MOBILITY 04h 40′ 48“ + 00h 00′ 24“
18 AXEL LAURANCE 131 ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 04h 40′ 48“ + 00h 00′ 24“
19 QUINTEN HERMANS 132 ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 04h 40′ 54“ + 00h 00′ 30“
20 TIM VAN DIJKE 56 TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE 04h 40′ 56“ + 00h 00′ 32“
21 ENZO LEIJNSE 74 TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL 04h 40′ 56“ + 00h 00′ 32“
22 BRUNO ARMIRAIL 192 DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM 04h 40′ 56“ + 00h 00′ 32“
23 ANDREAS LEKNESSUND 117 UNO-X MOBILITY 04h 46′ 31“ + 00h 06′ 07“
24 DAVIDE FORMOLO 95 MOVISTAR TEAM 04h 41′ 00“ + 00h 00′ 36“
25 FABIEN DOUBEY 182 TOTALENERGIES 04h 41′ 05“ + 00h 00′ 41“
26 ROGER ADRIA OLIVERAS 212 BORA – HANSGROHE 04h 41′ 07“ + 00h 00′ 43“

Paris-Roubaix U23 Espoirs 164km

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1 TEUTENBERG Tim Torn Lidl – Trek Future Racing 3:48:29
2 DONALDSON Robert Trinity Racing 25 10 ,,
3 ORINS Robin Lotto Dstny Development Team 20 7 ,,
4 LE HUITOUZE Eddy Equipe continentale Groupama-FDJ 15 4 0:15
5 VAN MECHELEN Vlad Development Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 10 2 ,,
6 ASKEY Ben Equipe continentale Groupama-FDJ 5 1 ,,
7 ARTZ Huub Wanty – ReUz – Technord 3 ,,
8 DEL GROSSO Tibor Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team 1 ,,
9 VERSTRYNGE Emiel Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team 1 ,,
10 THORNLEY Callum Trinity Racing 1 ,,

Namhaftes Starterfeld verspricht Radklassiker-Spannung

Eintagsrennen, Frühjahrskassiker, Vorschau, , , ,

In zwei Wochen findet der Radklassiker wieder statt – erneut mit einem namhaften Starterfeld. 19 Teams, darunter erstmals 14 Mannschaften der UCI WorldTour, haben ihre vorläufigen Fahrer für Eschborn-Frankfurt nominiert.

Søren Kragh Andersen führt die vorläufige Startliste an. Der Gewinn der Radklassiker-Trophäe war für den 29-Jährigen das Highlight der vergangenen Saison. In diesem Jahr dominiert sein Team Alpecin – Deceuninck die großen Klassiker und konnte einen Hattrick der Monumente erzielen. Ob die Mannschaft nach 2021 (Jasper Philipsen) und 2023 jetzt auch das Radklassiker-Triple einfährt, wird sich in zwei Wochen vor der Alten Oper zeigen.
Die deutschen Radsport-Fans können mehr als einem Dutzend heimischen Profis die Daumen drücken. Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) fährt ein überragendes Frühjahr, das mit dem Podium der Flandern-Rundfahrt und Platz 4 bei Paris-Roubaix gekrönt wurde. Emanuel Buchmann (BORA – hansgrohe) präsentiert das Meistertrikot am 1. Mai und möchte sich beim Radklassiker den Feinschliff für den Giro d’Italia holen, der nur drei Tage später beginnt. Für seinen Teamkollegen Maximilian Schachmann wird die Fahrt durch den Taunus sogar zur Premiere: Noch nie stand der zweifache Paris-Nizza-Gewinner beim Radklassiker am Start.

Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty) war einer der deutschen Fahrer, die im letzten Jahr am besten mit dem neuen Kurs zurechtkamen. Mit dem Schwung der Ardennen-Klassiker reist der Augsburger nach Eschborn. Dagegen wird es für Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech) ein Renn-Comeback. Genau sechs Wochen, nachdem er sich das Schlüsselbein gebrochen hat, wird der Radklassiker eines der ersten Rennen nach der Pause sein. Auch Jonas Rutsch (EF Education – EasyPost) hat nach seinem Sturz bei Paris-Roubaix eine Auszeit genommen, die mit dem 1. Mai endet. Der Hesse möchte genauso wie Lokalmatador John Degenkolb (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) sein Heimspiel für eine Top-Platzierung nutzen.

Neben Titelverteidiger Kragh Andersen sowie den deutschen Siegern John Degenkolb und Pascal Ackermann haben sich auch der Gewinner von 2022, Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), und Seriensieger Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) angesagt.

Aber nicht nur bisherigen Gewinnern und großen deutschen Namen werden Chancen auf den Sieg vor der Alten Oper eingeräumt. Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) hat im letzten Jahr das Podium nur knapp verpasst und im Frühjahr unterstrichen, dass ihm Klassiker mit Höhenmetern liegen. Und spätestens in diesem Jahr ist auch Maxim van Gils (Lotto Dstny) ins Rampenlicht gefahren. Nach Platz 3 bei Strade Bianche und Platz 7 bei Mailand-Sanremo ist der 24-Jährige weit mehr als nur ein Außenseiter-Tipp für den 1. Mai.

„Die vorläufige Startliste zeigt, dass sich viele Teams auf den neuen Kurs eingestellt haben. Vor einem Jahr hat das Plus an Höhenmetern für ein Plus an Spannung gesorgt. Das Rennen wurde offensiv ausgefahren, wir haben viele Gruppen mit namhaften Fahrern gesehen und bis zum Schluss war nicht klar, ob die Ausreißer ihren Vorsprung halten können. Für die Fans war das super und ich bin gespannt, ob wir in zwei Wochen einen der Allstars oder einen neuen Namen ganz oben auf dem Podium begrüßen können“, sagt Fabian Wegmann, Sportlicher Leiter von Eschborn-Frankfurt.

Eschborn-Frankfurt wird auf 203,8 Kilometern ausgetragen. Im Mittelpunkt des Rennens steht die anspruchsvolle Klettersequenz aus Feldberg, zweimal Mammolshainer und direkt weiter über die Billtalhöhe zur schwereren Feldberg-Auffahrt. Der letzte Anstieg zum Mammolshainer brachte im letzten Jahr die Vorentscheidung.

Paris-Roubaix – 2024 – 260 Km

Eintagsrennen, Ergebnisse, Frühjahrskassiker, Strassenrennen, Teamnews, Weltcup und Klassiker, , , , , ,

Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Mathieu Van der Poel delivered a masterpiece in the 2024 Paris-Roubaix, pulling off a long-range solo attack and a number of records that now belong in history. Following his Tour de Flanders victory last Sunday, he becomes the 10th-ever rider to win the cobbled Monument double, and the second-ever to achieve it while wearing the rainbow jersey after Rik van Looy in 1962. His 60-kilometre solo ride to the Vélodrome André Pétrieux becomes the longest winning move in the 21st century, while his 3’00” winning margin is the largest in the last 20 editions of the race. His teammate Jasper Philipsen crossed the finish line 2nd, re-enacting the one-two that Alpecin-Deceuninck already sealed in 2023, with Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen rounding out the podium.

1 VAN DER POEL Mathieu NED Alpecin-Deceuninck 05:25:58
2 PHILIPSEN Jasper BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck 03:00
3 PEDERSEN Mads DEN Lidl-Trek 03:00
4 POLITT Nils GER UAE Team Emirates 03:00
5 KÜNG Stefan SUI Groupama-FDJ 03:15
6 VERMEERSCH Gianni BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck 03:47
7 PITHIE Laurence NZL Groupama-FDJ 03:48
8 MEEUS Jordi BEL BORA-hansgrohe 04:47
9 WÆRENSKJOLD Søren NOR Uno-X Mobility 04:47
10 MIHKELS Madis EST Intermarché-Wanty 04:47
11 DEGENKOLB John GER Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 04:47
12 WRIGHT Fred GBR Bahrain Victorious 04:47
13 VAN GESTEL Dries BEL TotalEnergies 04:47
14 FEDOROV Yevgeniy KAZ Astana Qazaqstan Team 04:47
15 WELLENS Tim BEL UAE Team Emirates 04:47
16 VAN DIJKE Tim NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike 04:47
17 PIDCOCK Tom GBR INEOS Grenadiers 06:20
18 MALECKI Kamil POL Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 06:22
19 VAN DIJKE Mick NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike 06:22
20 SLOCK Liam BEL Lotto Dstny 06:22
21 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR Uno-X Mobility 06:28
22 TEUNISSEN Mike NED Intermarché-Wanty 06:28
23 BIERMANS Jenthe BEL ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 06:28
24 NAESEN Oliver BEL Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 06:28
25 LAPORTE Christophe FRA Team Visma | Lease a Bike 06:28
26 BISSEGGER Stefan SUI EF Education-EasyPost 06:28
27 ABRAHAMSEN Jonas NOR Uno-X Mobility 06:33
28 TILLER Rasmus NOR Uno-X Mobility 07:00
29 BITTNER Pavel CZE Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 07:00
30 GACHIGNARD Thomas FRA TotalEnergies 07:01
31 VAN ASBROECK Tom BEL Israel-Premier Tech 07:16
32 EEKHOFF Nils NED Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 07:16
33 STEIMLE Jannik GER Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 07:16
34 PAGE Hugo FRA Intermarché-Wanty 07:16
35 ALLEGAERT Piet BEL Cofidis 07:16
36 LAMPAERT Yves BEL Soudal Quick-Step 07:16
37 ASKEY Lewis GBR Groupama-FDJ 07:16
38 JACOBS Johan SUI Movistar Team 07:16
39 DECLERCQ Tim BEL Lidl-Trek 07:16
40 DE PESTEL Sander BEL Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 07:16
41 GRADEK Kamil POL Bahrain Victorious 07:16
42 VAN LERBERGHE Bert BEL Soudal Quick-Step 07:16
43 VACEK Mathias CZE Lidl-Trek 07:22
44 HAGENES Per Strand NOR Team Visma | Lease a Bike 07:29
45 PLANCKAERT Edward BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck 08:05
46 SARREAU Marc FRA Groupama-FDJ 08:09
47 THEUNS Edward BEL Lidl-Trek 08:40
48 SWIFT Connor GBR INEOS Grenadiers 08:47
49 WALSCHEID Max GER Team Jayco-AlUla 09:34
50 PASQUALON Andrea ITA Bahrain Victorious 09:34
51 BJERG Mikkel DEN UAE Team Emirates 09:34
52 VERMOTE Julien BEL Team Visma | Lease a Bike 09:34
53 HOOLE Daan NED Lidl-Trek 09:34
54 TURGIS Anthony FRA TotalEnergies 09:34
55 DUJARDIN Sandy FRA TotalEnergies 09:34
56 VAN MOER Brent BEL Lotto Dstny 09:34
57 GAUTHERAT Pierre FRA Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 09:34
58 SWIFT Ben GBR INEOS Grenadiers 09:34
59 PLANCKAERT Baptiste BEL Intermarché-Wanty 09:38
60 SÉNÉCHAL Florian FRA ARKEA-B&B HOTELS 09:45

172 riders took the start on the 121st edition of Paris-Roubaix at 11:26, off to ride 259,7 kilometres between Compiègne and the Vélodrome André Pétrieux in Roubaix with 29 cobbled sectors to be covered. 2022 winner Dylan van Baarle (Visma | Lease a Bike) was a last-minute withdrawal, and so were UAE Team Emirates’ Michael Vink and Astana Qazaqstan’s Michael Mørkøv. It took ‘only’ 22 kilometres for Per Strand Hagenes (Visma | Lease a Bike), Rasmus Tiller (Uno X Mobility), Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-Quick Step), Marco Haller (Bora-Hansgrohe), Liam Slock (Lotto-dstny), Gleb Syritsa (Astana Qazaqstan) and Kamil Malecki (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) to go clear. Shortly after, Dusan Rajovic (Bahrain Victorius) and Dries de Bondt (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale) also took off in a bid to join the breakaway that was only successful 80 kilometres into the race. A big crash at kilometer 37 meant the end of the race for Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan and Ineos Grenadiers’ Elia Viviani, affecting as well the likes of UAE Team Emirates’ Nils Politt, EF’s Alberto Bettiol and Intermarché’s Laurenz Rex amongst others.

Alpecin-Deceuninck kept the race on a tight leash
54,1 kilometres were covered in the first hour of racing as the riders benefited from remarkable tailwinds. The maximum gap for the break was clocked at 1’40”, 76 kilometres into the race, over a peloton led by Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Deceuninck. The cobbles started with Sector 29, Troisvilles to Inchy (km 96 – 2,2 km) ***, upon which the break only had 1’25” on a pack that was blown the pieces by Alpecin-Deceuninck’s steady tempo on the pavé. The breakaway was eventually reeled in 120 kilometres into the race by a 40-strong group with Mathieu Van der Poel’s teammates at the helm. Meanwhile, podium contenders such as Visma’s Christophe Laporte, Soudal’s Yves Lampaert, Arkéa’s Luca Mozzato or Movistar’s Oier Lazkano and Iván García Cortina were dropped for good. Josuha Tarling’s race came to an end at sector 24 from Capelle to Ruesnes (km 129,3 – 1,7 km) *** as the race jury disqualified him for holding onto the Ineos Grenadiers’ team car following a puncture.

First attack by Van der Poel in the Arenberg Forest
Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen led the front group into the Trouée d’Arenberg (km 164,4 – 2,3 km) *****, where Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) launched a powerful acceleration. Only his teammate Jasper Philipsen, Mick van Dijke (Visma | Lease a Bike) and the aforementioned Pedersen could keep up with his effort, that was frustrated just out of the cobbles when Philipsen punctured. The front group reformed, and three riders rose to the occasion to establish a new breakaway out of Sector 18 from Wallers to Hélesmes (km 167.4 — 1.6 km) ***: Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) and Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck). The latter did not cooperate as he was protecting the chances of his leader, and the move was shut down by Lidl-Trek with 68 kilometres to go.

The rainbow jersey powered away 60 kilometres from the finish
Vermeersch led the front group into sector 13, Orchies (km 199,5 – 1,7 km) ***, where Van der Poel attacked with 60 kilometres to go to power solo up the road. No one could match his acceleration and the Dutch rider quickly built a sizable gap, clocked at 3’00” with 10 kilometers to go, and therefore defended successfully his 2023 victory. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates), Stefan Küng, Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) went clear from the chasing group during the Mons-en-Pévèle (km 211,1 – 3 km) ***** cobbled sector, fighting for the two remaining podium spots. Pithie crashed out of contention with 30 kilometers to go, while Küng got dropped in Gruson (km 244,8 – 1,1 km) **. In the three-up sprint that settled things down between the chasers at the Vélodrome, Philipsen took the best of Pedersen and Politt.

Paris – Roubaix Espoirs – U23 – 166 Km

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Plomi Foto

1 TEUTENBERG Tim Torn GER Lidl-Trek Future Racing 03:48:29
2 DONALDSON Robert GBR Trinity Racing 00:00
3 ORINS Robin BEL Lotto Dstny Dev. 00:00
4 LE HUITOUZE Eddy FRA Groupama-FDJ Conti 00:15
5 VAN MECHELEN Vlad BEL Dev. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 00:15
6 ASKEY Ben GBR Groupama-FDJ Conti 00:15
7 ARTZ Huub NED Wanty-ReUz-Technord 00:15
8 DEL GROSSO Tibor NED Alpecin-Deceuninck Dev. Team 00:15
9 VERSTRYNGE Emiel BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck Dev. Team 00:15
10 THORNLEY Callum GBR Trinity Racing 00:15
11 HUISING Menno NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike Dev. 00:15
12 DOCKX Aaron BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck Dev. Team 00:21
13 BELMANS Lennert BEL Alpecin-Deceuninck Dev. Team 01:25
14 L’HOTE Antoine FRA Decathlon AG2R La Mon. Dev. 02:33
15 SIMMONS Colby USA Team Visma | Lease a Bike Dev. 02:33

Paris-Roubaix Femmes – 148,5 Km

Eintagsrennen, Ergebnisse, Frauenradsport, Frühjahrskassiker, , , , ,

1 KOPECKY Lotte BEL Team SD Worx-Protime 03:47:13
2 BALSAMO Elisa ITA Lidl-Trek 00:00
3 GEORGI Pfeiffer GBR Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 00:00
4 VOS Marianne NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike 00:00
5 KRAAK Amber NED FDJ-SUEZ 00:00
6 VAN DIJK Ellen NED Lidl-Trek 00:06
7 WIEBES Lorena NED Team SD Worx-Protime 00:28
8 BERTEAU Victoire FRA Cofidis Women Team 00:28
9 LE NET Marie FRA FDJ-SUEZ 00:28
10 LE COURT Kim MRI AG Insurance-Soudal Team 00:28
11 CHABBEY Elise SUI CANYON//SRAM Racing 00:28
12 VERHULST-WILD Gladys FRA FDJ-SUEZ 00:28
13 BORGHESI Letizia ITA EF Education-Cannondale 00:28
14 VON BERSWORDT Sophie NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike 00:28
15 KUIJPERS Evy NED Fenix-Deceuninck 00:28
16 BACKSTEDT Zoe GBR CANYON//SRAM Racing 00:28
17 SCHWEINBERGER Christina AUT Fenix-Deceuninck 01:05
18 SIERRA Arlenis CUB Movistar Team 01:05
19 NOOIJEN Lieke NED Team Visma | Lease a Bike 01:05
20 TRUYEN Marthe BEL Fenix-Deceuninck 01:05

Kopecky, a rainbow icon on the cobbles

All eyes were on Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) this Saturday, with the rainbow jersey on her shoulders and a status of hot favourite for the 4th edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift… And the Belgian icon delivered a stunning victory in the André-Pétrieux velodrome after an impressive performance all day long. She was the most active rider on the cobbles to make the selection. Eventually, as a group of six favourites entered the velodrome, SD Worx-Protime’s leader, a world champion on the road and on the track as well, made the most of her power to get the better of Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), with Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) finishing 4th. Kopecky is the first Belgian winner of Paris-Roubaix since Philippe Gilbert in the men’s edition, in 2019. She’s also the first reigning world champion to claim the winner’s cobble since Peter Sagan in 2018.

The start from Denain, with two loops to open up the race, is marked by strong winds. Already wary of the breakaway after Alison Jackson’s triumph in 2023, the peloton also fear potential echelons.
The tension is high, leading to several crashes including Jackson’s, and the early attackers are kept under control. Victoire Joncheray (Komugi-Grand Est) sets off at km 15 and opens a gap of 1’50’’ after 25km, but the peloton get back to her some 30 kilometres before the first cobble sector, from Hornaing to Wandignies (km 66).

Kopecky unleashed
The tension and the speeds increase as the peloton get closer to the cobblestones. Marianne Vos’ Visma | Lease a Bike, Emma Norsgaard Bjerg’s Movistar and Pfeiffer Georgi’s DSM Firmenich-PostNL are among the teams involved in driving the peloton. Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) quickly shows her rainbow jersey at the very front. Lidl-Trek also show their collective strength and participate in the early selection.

Kopecky pushes the pace on sector 15, from Tilloy to Sars-et-Rosières (2.4km, 4*), to make a first selection with 70km to go. The world champion does everything, even fixing her handlebar with an Allen key provided by her team car.
And she goes on to the attack again on sector 12, in Auchy-lez-Orchies (2.7km, 4*). This time, only three riders can follow her, 53km away from the finish: Marianne Vos, Peiffer Georgi and Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck).

FDJ-Suez on the move
Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) makes sure they’re caught on the iconic cobbles of Mons-en-Pévèle (3km, 5*). Kopecky tries again with 45km to go, unsuccessfully. DSM Firmenich-PostNL, Visma | Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek take turns at the front of a 30-woman peloton.
Jade Wiel (FDJ-Suez) goes solo with 33.5km to go, just like Elisa Longo Borghini when she won Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift. The Frenchwoman opens a gap of 30’’ but she’s eventually caught on the cobbles of Bourghelles to Wannehain (1.1km, 3*). Her teammate Amber Kraak immediately counter-attacks and Van Dijk joins her.

A thriller until the end
Kopecky accelerates again in Camphin-en-Pévèle (Km 128.6 – Sector 5, 1.8km, 4*) and a group of six riders emerge on the Carrefour de l’Arbre with the Belgian world champion, Van Dijk, Kraak, Georgi, Vos and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek). Vos and Kopecky attack again and again but they can’t get rid of each other.

As a 10-woman chase group featuring Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) gets closer in the finale, Van Dijk sacrifices herself to drive the lead group into the velodrome with a gap of 20’’. Balsamo and Vos open up the sprint but they can’t resist Kopecky’s mighty sprint to claim her spot in the legend of the Hell of the North.

ESCAPE FROM HELL – (V/V) 2023: Alison Jackson

Eintagsrennen, Frauenradsport, Frühjahrskassiker, History, Strassenrennen, , , , ,

2023: Alison Jackson
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.

Alison Jackson : “Don’t think, just do”
“In the three editions that we’ve seen, Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift has been won in a different way on a different part of the course”, Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) celebrates as she gets ready to defend her crown in the French Monument. In 2021, for the grand premiere, British icon Lizzie Deignan powered to the front as soon the race hit the cobbles, flying to victory through a magnificent one woman show. A year later, the favourites raised hell on the cobbles and Elisa Longo Borghini eventually resisted her fierce rivals. In 2023, Jackson invented another scenario.
A seasoned rider, the Canadian champ enjoyed her first tastes of the Hell of the North (24th in 2021, 13th in 2022) and felt she had the means to pave her own way to victory towards Roubaix. It was all a matter of creating the right opportunity, emulating the long range attackers who have historically shined in the men’s edition of Paris-Roubaix.
The opening circuit gave Jackson and the baroudeurs the proper terrain to get away. Once they reached the cobbles, an absolute thriller was on, marked by a mass crash in the chase group with 37 km to go and an extraordinarily tight finale. Ten kilometres away from glory, the gap was down to 15’’. In any other race, it would have been a done deal… Not in Roubaix. Three decades after Steve Bauer saw Eddy Planckaert pipe him with the smallest margin on the André-Pétrieux velodrome, Jackson became the first Canadian to ever win a Monument.

KM 0. ROLL WITH INTENT : “Always better to be ahead”
“I had done quite well in the previous editions and I always said: ‘If I have a clean run, no crashes, then I think I could win the race.’ I came with the attitude that it’s always better to be ahead. Any moment when you find yourself at the front of a bike race, be aggressive, make an attack. So that was gonna be my approach to the race although I thought I would be doing that later in the race, more in some of the harder parts. I had a few other teammates that their role was to try and get in that early break but there was a big group going and it was important that we were in it, so I went. It was the right moment and, no second guessing, the reaction right away was to jump in it. Here’s the break! And then you have to believe that it’s gonna work out. You don’t go in a breakaway if you don’t think it’s gonna go far.”

KM 25. GIVE THE BREAK A CHANCE : “Every little bit mattered”
“The key was just to ride. I believed in this breakaway and that showed everyone that they could also believe. It was leading by example. Susanne Andersen was up there for Uno-X. We were teammates once upon a time and she’s a very smart bike racer. Knowing that she was always pulling through, I was always pulling through, and the same with the others. Even if the group catches us later on, we’re still in the finale, we can get a great result and we’ve put ourselves in a position to avoid crashes, chose our lines on the cobbles… So I have full commitment and it encourages others to have full commitment, so the gap grows. I’m hearing on the radio: ‘You’re doing too much work.’ People told me all the time that’s what they said when they watched: ‘Oh she’s working too much, she’s not gonna win.’ But that’s how we maintained that gap. Every little bit mattered to keep it going.”

KM 80. THRIVE THROUGH CHAOS : “I got word through the radio there was a big crash”
“I was not so much aware of the situation behind. All I knew was the time gap – up to six minutes, that was really good. And just listening and watching, hearing from the team car where that time gap was, you could get a sense of what was happening behind. But because we had almost every team in that front group, I knew that the chase behind wasn’t gonna be very strong. So the gap was coming down slowly. I got word through the radio that there was a big crash behind so that let our gap go up. I didn’t know who crashed or what it looked like. And also you don’t know what the tactic is behind. At one point, [Lotte] Kopecky attacked but she dropped her teammates from SD Worx, so she was alone and she couldn’t chase the whole group… These dynamics didn’t help them behind. But you know, the gap was coming down closer and closer. At one point, it was nine seconds.”

KM 135. TOO LATE TO GIVE UP : “That’s what I love about bike racing”
“I remember looking behind and seeing the group was very close. Such a small gap usually means the race is over for the breakaway. With 5km to go, I thought : ‘We’ve been out here on the road, alone for 140k, we’re not giving up now!’ You have to commit to the very end. And Roubaix is a very rough race, everybody is tired, so 10 seconds means more than in other occasions. Even if I pulled the group all the way, I would still get 5th and that would be a great result. I’d rather be a part of the front action than change the tactics. Expressing that to the other girls also allowed them to get on board. Three of us drove all the way into the finale. At that moment, if you’re behind, you think you’re gonna get back and you already think of the finale. So they think they’ve caught us and they slow down, while we think they’ve caught us and we go full gas. It creates a new separation and that’s what I love about bike racing, the games, the tactics… Because it’s not just the decisions we make, it’s also the decisions they make behind at that timing that made it so positive for us in the breakaway.”

KM 145.4. GLORY AND PARTY IN THE VÉLODROME : “It’s not your imagination, it’s real life”
“I’m not a track rider, I’m not used to sprinting on a velodrome, but I always asked the trackies how to manage this one. But I mean… On my handlebar, my notes are: ‘Don’t think, just do’. That’s really what it came to. As long as you don’t get boxed in, it’s about what you have left in the legs so that was the plan, to sprint absolutely full gas. Once you cross the line, you know you can own it. This. Is. My. Win. It’s a bit of relief and a bit of knowing you’ve accomplished something so big. No Canadian had ever won a cycling Monument. So to be the first is super meaningful. And then it’s just so exciting. Bike racing is fun but winning is a special type of fun. You ride around the velodrome on the recons, imagining what it would be like to win. Now, it’s not your imagination, it’s real life and you get to experience it. You just want to celebrate with all your teammates and friends and all the people that know you. Of course my teammates are not there yet but it’s whoever, friends that were in the crowd, some journalists, photographers, the team staff… And we start the celebration.”

Alison Jackson :
Born on 14 December 1988 in Vermilion (Canada)
• 3 participations in Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift
Winner in 2023
• 3-time Canadian National Champion
Road race in 2021, 2023 / ITT in 2021
• 9 participations in the UCI World Championships
6th in 2021

Paris-Roubaix 55.7 KM OF COBBLESTONES: DIFFITULTY RATINGS

Eintagsrennen, Frühjahrskassiker, Strassenrennen, Vorschau, Weltcup und Klassiker,

Key points :
• The distance covered by cobblestones is slightly longer for the 121st edition of Paris-Roubaix, which will take place on Sunday, April 7. The 29 sectors in the final 165 kilometres total 55.7km (compared with 54.5km in 2023), the largest total in 30 years. The riders will get reacquainted with the Briastre (km 111.5) and Buat hamlet (km 129.5) sectors.
• The 4th edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift will be contested the day before, with an increased total distance (148.5 km vs. 145.4 km in 2023) but an unchanged programme as far as the cobblestones are concerned: the women will take on the same 17 sectors as the final 29.2 km of the men’s race.
• Based on the most recent reconnaissance of the course, conducted on April 2 by Thierry Gouvenou, Paris-Roubaix race director, and Franck Perque, Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift race director, the organisers were able to validate the difficulty ratings assigned to each of the race’s cobblestone sectors, assessed based on their length, the irregularity of the cobblestones, the general condition of the section and its location. The five-star rated sectors remain the Trouée d’Arenberg (# 19), Mons-en-Pévèle (# 11) and the Carrefour de l’Arbre (# 4).

The 29 Paris-Roubaix cobbled sectors

29: Troisvilles in Inchy (km 96 – 2,2 km) ***
28: Viesly in Quiévy (km 102,5 – 1,8 km) ***
27: Quiévy in Saint-Python (km 105,1 – 3,7 km) ****
26: Viesly in Briastre (km 111,3 – 3 km) ***
25: Vertain in Saint-Martin-sur-Ecaillon (km 122,6 – 2,3 km) ***
24: Capelle in Ruesnes (km 129,3 – 1,7 km) ***
23: Artres in Quérénaing (km 138,3 – 1,3 km) **
22: Quérénaing in Maing (km 140,1 – 2,5 km) ***
21: Maing in Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon (km 143,2 – 1,6 km) ***
20: Haveluy in Wallers (km 156,2 – 2,5 km) ****
19: Trouée d’Arenberg (km 164,4 – 2,3 km) *****
18: Wallers in Hélesmes (km 170,4 – 1,6 km) ***
17: Hornaing in Wandignies (km 177,2 – 3,7 km) ****
16: Warlaing in Brillon (km 184,7 – 2,4 km) ***
15: Tilloy in Sars-et-Rosières (km 188,2 – 2,4 km) ****
14: Beuvry in Orchies (km 194,5 – 1,4 km) ***
13: Orchies (km 199,5 – 1,7 km) ***
12: Auchy in Bersée (km 205,6 – 2,7 km) ****
11: Mons-en-Pévèle (km 211,1 – 3 km) *****
10: Mérignies in Avelin (km 217,1 – 0,7 km) **
9: Pont-Thibault in Ennevelin (km 220,5 – 1,4 km) ***
8: Templeuve – L’Epinette (km 225,9 – 0,2 km) *
8: Templeuve – Moulin-de-Vertain (km 226,4 – 0,5 km) **
7: Cysoing in Bourghelles (km 232,8 – 1,3 km) ***
6: Bourghelles in Wannehain (km 235,3 – 1,1 km) ***
5: Camphin-en-Pévèle (km 239,8 – 1,8 km) ****
4: Carrefour de l’Arbre (km 242,5 – 2,1 km) *****
3: Gruson (km 244,8 – 1,1 km) **
2: Willems in Hem (km 251,5 – 1,4 km) **
1: Roubaix (km 258,3 – 0,3 km) *

Paris-Roubaix Challenge

Saturday, April 6th 2024 – 24 hours before Paris-Roubaix and a few hours before Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, a peloton of 5500 amateur riders will measure themselves on the Queen of the Classics and its fabled cobblestone sectors. Three distances are on offer to cyclists, to suit every taste: 70, 145 and
170 kms. Every rider will find an appropriate legend.

Information and registration on parisroubaixchallenge.com and timeto.com

ESCAPE FROM HELL – (IV/V) 2016 : Mathew Hayman

Eintagsrennen, Frühjahrskassiker, History, Strassenrennen, Weltcup und Klassiker, , , ,

2016 : Mathew Hayman
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.

Mathew Hayman : “I won in the year when I had the least chance”
Is the early breakaway to Roubaix an Australian specialty? Riders from Down Under waited until the turn of the 21st century to impose their panache on the Classic born in 1896 but they’ve done it in unique fashion. Henk Vogels was the first to break into the top 10 (in 1997 and 1998). Then, in 2007, Stuart O’Grady triumphed in the North after attacking in the first hour of the race. Ten editions later, in the spring of 2016, Mathew Hayman joined him on the list of winners, overturning all the predictions.
At 37, the native of Camperdown, an inner western suburb of Sydney, is a seasoned expert on the cobbled Classics, but he’s no guaranteed winner. Prior to his Roubaix triumph, his professional honours list includes the Challenge Mallorca (2001), the Sachsen Tour (2005), the road race at the Commonwealth Games (2006) and Paris-Bourges (2011). He headed into his 15th appearance in the Hell of the North – he will push his tally to 17, a record in the French Monument – with a wealth of experience at all levels of the race (8th in 2012, OTL in 2002), but with little certainty about his form: six weeks earlier, he fractured his right arm on his first cobbled race of the season, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
For a month, the Australian stepped on his home-trainer and trained on Zwift. In his garage, he prepared to topple the oracles, dazzled by the stars Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen and Peter Sagan. For the first time, Paris-Roubaix was broadcast in its entirety on television, from the start in Compiègne to the finish in the André-Pétrieux velodrome. For six hours, the race was breathtaking and, in this extraordinary setting, Hayman delivered a masterclass, making the breakaway before surviving the return of the favourites and frustrating the legend Boonen.

KM 0. PREPARE FOR BATTLE : “Roubaix was on my mind, but I had a lot of doubts“
“When I broke my arm, the doctors put it in a cast and told me it would be six weeks. I looked at my phone and I said: ‘Okay, that’s one day before Roubaix…’ The team doctor was there and he said: ‘That’s not gonna happen’. You think of all the effort you’ve done for the classics, and it gets taken away… I have a track background, from Australia, and I’m used to training indoors, living in Belgium. Zwift wasn’t so big at the time but I decided to give it a shot. I did a lot of double sessions, there were a couple of days I even did three or four sessions.
Roubaix was on my mind, but I had a lot of doubts. I went and raced in Spain the week-end before Roubaix. I had done four or five days on the road before that. And I had one week left. By that point, I was pretty confident but other people in the team were still unsure. In the recon, I had to do a pretty hard ride. I think I did four and half hours on Wednesday and I went pretty deep to make sure… I had missed a lot. But I was pretty happy on that evening. I had good legs, my arm was holding up and I was gonna start in Roubaix on the Sunday.”

KM 80. MAKE THE BREAK : “It was starting to get hard and I was still pretty fresh”
“Actually, I wasn’t supposed to be in the breakaway. I was supposed to kind of wait longer. We had three riders that were designated to jump with the early breakaway. But we’d been racing 70-80 kilometres and those roads out of Compiègne are quite rolling. It was starting to get hard and I was still pretty fresh because I had just been waiting, sitting in the bunch. I actually went twice. The first time, on a little rise, I thought maybe this is the break and I jumped in. And the next time, I actually already had a teammate, Magnus Cort Nielsen, and I didn’t see that until I had already jumped. The group became bigger and bigger and we were 21 in the end.
The collaboration was really good. There was some good riders in there, really good riders. And most of the guys, when you’re in that situation, you want to make the most of it. We never got a lot of time, about one and half, two minutes. We kind of had to keep pushing but at the same time, we weren’t racing each other for the sectors, except for Arenberg of course. Even then, being a group of 20, still you want to be in the front. But every other sector, we just went onto the sector and just rode. I think that’s where you save the energy.”

KM 198. CONTAIN BOONEN : “Tom really tried to make it hard”
“I was like: ‘Okay, I’m just here to get ahead, first I want to get through the first sector, then I want to get through Arenberg’, and then a big one for me was to get through Mons-en-Pévèle, but we got caught before. Some guys like Fabian [Cancellara] had missed the split and there were more splits in the group. They had also been racing since Arenberg and the guys that came across, by the time they got to me, they were pretty fatigued. Luke Durbridge was among the 15 riders who came back. He was one of the leaders for our team that day. He was looking very strong.
Tom [Boonen] was doing a lot of work, the group was too big and he wanted to thin it out. Onto Orchies, he really tried to make it hard again, he didn’t have so many teammates and I think he wanted to get rid of as many people as possible, and at the end of Orchies, Luke punctured. If he was in front of me, maybe I would have given my wheel but he was already behind and stopped before I could react. And then I was: ‘Oh well, I’m by myself now.’”

KM 257.5. BRING IT HOME : “Coming into the Velodrome, I probably had the smallest palmares”
“On Mons-en-Pévèle, there was a big acceleration, I was caught behind a rider, maybe it was [Marcel] Sieberg… And I could see Sep [Vanmarcke] or Ian Stannard going really fast. I hesitated, I was thinking: ‘I’ve been in the break, maybe I just stay there…’ But I understood I had to go. Still, I didn’t believe I could win. Then on the Carrefour de l’Arbre, I was knocked off the wheel, I managed to come across and that’s when I started believing. Coming into the Velodrome with Sep Vanmarcke, Ian Stannard, Tom Boonen and Edvald Boasson Hagen, I probably had the smallest palmares. But I wasn’t thinking like that, I was just thinking of racing, having moves, covering attacks, trying to get to the finish line.
Then, as soon as I crossed the line, I came back to reality and tried to understand what had happened. In other years, I was in great shape and something always happened. And I always put pressure on myself to have a good race in Roubaix. I knew that when Tom and Fabian accelerated on the cobbles, they were impossible to follow – for me and for everyone else! So I looked for other ways. It’s just a race I fell in love with. And I won it in the year when I had the least chance of doing well.“

Mathew Hayman :
• Born on 20th April 1978 in Camperdown (Australia)
• Sports director for Team Jayco AlUla
• Holds the record for most participations in Paris-Roubaix – 17 :
Winner in 2016 / 8th in 2012 / 10th in 2011

ESCAPE FROM HELL-2011 : JOHAN VANSUMMEREN (III/V)

Eintagsrennen, Frühjahrskassiker, History, Strassenrennen, Weltcup und Klassiker, , , ,

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