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Saturday, March 9, 2024

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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. - Marcus Aurelius

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Current racing:

• March 3 - 10: Paris-Nice
• March 4 - 10: Tirreno-Adriatico

Upcoming racing:

• March 13: Danilith Nokere Koerse
• March 13: Milano-Torino
• March 14: GP de Denain
• March 15: Brendene Koksijde Classic
• March 16: Milano - Sanremo
• March 16: Classic Loire Atlantique

Latest completed racing:

• March 2: Strade Bianche
• February 28: Trofeo Laigueglia
• February 27: Le Samyn
• February 19 - 25: UAE Tour
• February 22 - 25: O Gran Camiño
• February 25: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
• February 25: Faun-Drôme Classic

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Paris-Nice stage six reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Mattias Skjelmose's Team Lidl-Trek:

The Danish national champion powered to the first win of this 2024 season in spectacular style after another all-in performance from Lidl-Trek at 'The Race to the Sun'.

Stage six winner Mattias Skjelmose. ASO photo

The day started with Mads Pedersen fighting to get in the breakaway like a man possess, believing his best chance at a stage win was to reach the inhuman ramps of Colle-sur-Loup ahead of the lightweight climbers. He was present in almost every attack, but it took almost 70 kilometres for the real breakaway to establish, which Pedersen bridged across to with on other rider to create a group of 10. Despite the relentless start, the breakaway had no option but to forge on, as Ineos had the idea to pull behind. Their pace spelt the end of the breakaway, but not of Pedersen who continued to pace for Skjelmose when he was brought back. The rest of the Lidl-Trek riders had been doing a fine job of looking after Skjelmose, keeping him well positioned ahead of the expected explosive finale.

When the peloton hit the devious double digit gradient at Colle-sur-Loup it didn’t take long for the best climbers to break clear, amongst them, Mattias Skjelmose. After covering the worst sections of the climb, as the legs were still stinging, Matteo Jorgensen (Visma Lease-a-Bike) decided to spring his attack.  There was no immediate response from the rest of the favourites until Skjelmose decided to jump across, having rediscovered the kick he was missing in his first races of the season. Brandon McNulty followed, and shortly thereafter the trio were away with a widening gap. Skjelmose rode a savvy final, able to save his legs a little more as he knew that the two Americans had more to gain from the attack due to their higher position on GC. The Danish Champion launched his sprint from the back of the group, instantly gapping his rivals before lifting his hands to the sky in victory.

Thanks to the significant time gap to the chasing group, and the bonus seconds from the win, Skjelly skyrockets from 19th to 4th position in GC, with everything to play for at the weekend.

Skjelmose’s Reaction:
“I am really happy and surprised. I was feeling quite good all day but, you know, these kinds of days are quite special and you need a lot of luck but, the Team worked perfectly for me and after, Mads was brought back from the breakaway, when the Team works like this it minimizes all the luck you need.

"When Matteo went I thought that Remco or Primoz or one of the other guys higher up on the GC would close it but then, I tried pull a little bit and they let me go, or gave me a few meters, and then I just went off. Brandon then joined me and we were able to close to him.

"I love to race in France especially this area. I took an emotion win in Haut Var last year, which is really close to here also. I just love racing in this area. This is the first [victory] of the year for me and that’s always a special one.

"Winning Paris-Nice? There’s bigger miracles that have happened in cycling but I think the other guys are strong than me today. I think today, it was a bit of a weird way to win because I played on being down on GC and them having such a big gap on me. It’s not necessarily a nice way to win and those guys were stronger than me today.

"I feel better than before I won Tour de Suisse last year and I think I am in a really good place right now. We lost time in the TTT but then maybe I wouldn’t have got the stage win today because they wouldn’t have let me go. I am happy where I am right now.

"I really don’t know what I can do in the next days, it’s hard to say. I feel great, maybe the best feeling I ever had, and let’s see how far I can go. We will have two special days, looking to weather forecast. I would be happy to move further in GC but also keep the position I’m now. I came at Paris-Nice with the goal of GC, then we had the loss in the TTT and I refocused my target on stages. Now, I have a stage and still good placement in GC. I think we can finish this stuff really great."

Here's the Paris-Nice report from GC leader Brandon McNulty's UAE Team Emirates:

It was a cold but successful day at Paris-Nice for UAE Team Emirates as Brandon McNulty reclaimed the yellow jersey after slipping into the winning move in the closing kilometres of Stage 6 from Sisteron to La Colle-sur-Loup (198.2km).

Brandon McNulty is back in yellow

McNulty infiltrated a three man escape alongside Matteo Jorgenson (Visma LAB) and eventual stage winner Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) which build up a lead of over a minute on a group of favourites which chased behind. The group would arrive to the line with McNulty confidently pulling on the leaders jersey ahead of two crucil days of defending it.

McNulty: “This morning we expected teams to do something and in the end it was an aggressive race. I knew there would be attacks when the group stalled a bit after the last main climb and that’s when it happened. If there was one guy I knew I could work well with in a breakaway with apart from my teammates it was Jorgenson so it was fun, it reminded me of when we raced together as juniors.We’re in a good position but we still have two hard days coming up probably with bad weather also so we’ll have to work very hard to defend the lead.”

Meanwhile at Tirreno -Adriatico Juan Ayuso and Isaac Del Toro put in a defiant display to limit their losses to runaway leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma LAB) who took the 5th stage from Torricella Sicura to Valle Castellana (144km).

Ayuso continues in 2nd place at 54” from the Dane, with Del Toro in 6th at 1’34”. Ayuso also leads the young rider classification.

Ayuso: “It wasn’t my best day on a bike but I was still up at the front and able to be competitive. Though Vingegaard was on a different level to everyone else. Del Toro was really impressive, he pushed on through the downhill and was pushing the pace also during the up and overs. I think he was the strongest guy after Vingegaard today, so a big thanks to him and also the rest of the team. Tomorrow will be another big day so we’ll aim for a stage win, even though we know Vingegaard will be tough to beat.”

Here's the Paris-Nice report from Laurence Pithie's Team Groupama-FDJ:

The GC contenders, and Mattias Skjelmose in particular, eventually took the best on the hilly stage 6 of Paris-Nice. Laurence Pithie still tried to anticipate the big fight by entering the breakaway after a furious start, but the bunch decided otherwise and caught all the attackers before the last climb. Quentin Pacher was the first rider from Groupama-FDJ to reach the finish line, in twenty-second position.

The peloton has just left the start city of Sisteron. ASO photo

The “Race to the Sun” resumed on Friday where it had ended the day before. From Sisteron, the riders tackled an uncertain sixth stage, due to the 3,000 meters of elevation gain and a final climb located almost thirty kilometres from the finish. Did the break finally have its chances? Many believed so, and this led to a fierce fight over the first sixty kilometers slightly uphill. Laurence Pithie actively took part in this fight. Six men ultimately opened a gap in the first classified climb, and the New Zealander made an extra effort to catch the right group.

“It was a super hard day, full gas from the start, and it took a long time for the breakaway to actually go,” said Laurence. “I was attacking a lot and following all the moves. In the end, I had to really fight to be there. The breakaway was gone, but I managed to get away from the peloton on the descent and ride across.” “When we saw that Lidl-Trek wanted to get in the moves, we knew we absolutely had to put someone in front, and Laurence ended up with Pedersen,” added Benoît Vaugrenard. In addition to his competitor for the green jersey, the “Kiwi” also found himself with Bruno Armirail, Michael Storer, Georg Zimmerman, Marco Haller, Cedric Beullens, Christian Scaroni, Mathieu Burgaudeau and Gijs Leemreize.

The lead of the ten men reached two minutes before the next two climbs, but the gap never went higher than that. “I was really motivated to be in the breakaway,” added Laurence. “I thought that if I could be in front, I’d have a chance to pass the climb in front of the GC riders, or even get caught towards the top and still stay with them and contest the win. But Ineos had other plans”. “It could have been a good move, but Ineos decided to make the race hard, and we couldn’t do anything about it,” said Benoît. “Anyway, Laurence had a very good race, he was up there where he had to. This kind of effort will make him progress. He did a brave ride today.”

For more than an hour, the peloton kept the break within just one minute, then came back in the Col du Gourdon, before heading to La Colle-sur-Loup. Quentin Pacher, David Gaudu and Kevin Geniets held on to the right group, but shortly after passing the finish line for the first time, the race exploded on the final climb (1.8 km at 11%). The Groupama-FDJ riders were then unable to compete with the favourites. “We are satisfied with Laurence, who rode a good stage, but then we got a bit in trouble,” confessed Benoît. “David was not feeling well 48 hours after his crash. Kevin crashed at the bottom of the climb. There was only Quentin left, and he fought as best he could.”

The French puncher eventually reached the line in twenty-second place, more than four minutes behind the winner Mattias Skjelmose. Brandon McNulty took over the yellow jersey on Friday. “Tomorrow will come down to the summit finish in the Madone d’Utelle, then there will be the usual stage around Nice on Sunday,” Benoît concluded. “It’s going to be a hard weekend.”

And here's the Paris-Nice report from Luke Plapp's Team Jayco AlULa:

Luke Plapp honoured the race leader’s yellow jersey at Paris-Nice in fine fashion, going all in on a tough climbing day in challenging conditions to hold onto third overall.

Luke Plapp finished stage five in yellow. ASO photo

Plapp was right up there with the other race favourites when the group broke apart on the final climb. Three riders went up the road with the Australian champion pacing himself well in the chasing group.

After battling hard all the way to the line, Plapp had to relinquish his yellow jersey, but remains close to it and keeps his place on the podium. He is now in third place in the general classification with just two days to go.

Chris Harper was the next Team Jayco AlUla rider across the line a short while behind Plapp after getting caught behind a rider who crashed in front of him before the final climb.

Luke Plapp (3rd overall):
“The weather held off [for most of] today which made for a very happy Plappy. It was a really hard day, Ineos took it up from the start and the pace was super high. We managed to ride in a really good position, second team, for the whole day and came into the final climb in a really good position. Then, it was just whatever you have left in the legs and just go as fast as you can to the finish line. Unfortunately, there were three guys that were stronger today but I’m still third on GC. There’s two days to go and hopefully we can hold onto that.”

Tirreno-Adriatico stage five reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner and new GC leader Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Jonas Vingegaard impressively won the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. After clever teamwork, the two-time Tour winner left the competition behind on the San Giacomo before riding solo towards the finish line. As icing on the cake, Vingegaard captured the leader's jersey. Teammate Cian Uijtdebroeks finished sixth.

Jonas Vingegaard takes a solo win and the GC lead. RCS Sport photo

The first mountain stage in the seven-day stage race took the peloton from Torricella Sicura to Valle Castellana. The 145-kilometre stage included climbs of the Castellalto and the San Giacomo.

In a nervous race, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders held the breakaway of ten riders within reach of the bunch. With the climb of the San Giacomo ahead, the yellow-black formation increased the pace considerably. Thanks to the high pace, the escapees were caught, after which Attila Valter and Ben Tulett managed to set up team leader Vingegaard. The Dane launched his attack and began a successful solo of 30 kilometres. His fifth win of the season also earned him the blue leader's jersey.

"It's great that I could thank my teammates in this way," Vingegaard responded afterwards. "The guys did a fantastic job. I am hugely grateful for that. We had planned to make the race hard on the final climb and we did. Both Steven (Kruijswijk) and Dylan (van Baarle) were of great value in the first part of the stage. After that, it was up to Attila and Ben to keep the pace as high as possible on the uphill sections. I'm satisfied that I could finish it with a solo."

"It was a tough climb, so it was important to be able to maintain the pace," he continued. "I also knew I had to keep giving everything to keep the chasing group of favourites behind me. In the end, everything fell into place. I am looking forward to the last two stages."

Here's the report from third-place Jai Hindley's Team Bora-hansgrohe:

After an opening time trial and three stages for the sprinters, the first mountain stage was on the program on the fifth day at Tirreno-Adriatico (UCI 2.UWT). 144km from Torricella Sicura to Valle Castellana, two categorised climbs and an uphill finale - it was a day for the overall classification. Jonas Vingegaard went clear on the longest - and penultimate - climb of the day, winning the stage as a soloist and taking the overall lead. Jai Hindley was part of a six-rider chasing group and took 3rd in the sprint for the stage podium. Ahead of the final two stages - a mountain stage tomorrow and a day for the sprinters on Sunday - Hindley now sits in 3rd overall.

About 50 kilometers into the stage the peloton climbs towards Castellalto. RCS Sport photo.

From the Finish Line:
“That was a pretty tough day! The boys did a great job escorting us and positioning us ahead of the decisive climb. Unfortunately Lennard Kämna crashed and so wasn’t able to come back to the chasing group. In the finale it was just all out racing to the line and then a sprint for the podium spots. I’m happy with my race today and am already looking forward to tomorrow’s mountain finish and decisive GC stage.” Jai Hindley

“Visma controlled and made the race hard right from the beginning. Our approach was to protect our leaders, Jai Hindley, Lennard Kämna and Daní Martinez and see how the race unfolded on the long climb. In the end it was a very hard race with Jai putting in a strong performance to ultimately jump on the podium. Daní Martinez didn’t have the best legs today, while Lennard Kämna crashed just before the long, decisive climb. In any event, he performed very well and just had to deal with some bad luck. Tomorrow we have another mountain stage - full focus on the GC with Jai Hindley.” Enrico Gasparotto, Sports Director

And here's the Tirreno-Adriatico report from Team Israel-Premier Tech:

Simon Clarke proved to be a man of his word on stage 5 of Tirreno – Adriatico, signalling his intention to make the breakaway before the stage and backing it up by launching the first attack of the day.

Clarke’s move triggered a flurry of counter attacks to eventually form a strong 10-rider breakaway but knowing the strength of the riders up the road, the peloton rode hard to control the move and never let their advantage go beyond two and a half minutes.

Simon Clarke finishes 2023 Giro d'Italia stage nine. Sirotti photo

“We have had four pretty clear sprint days where we had clear objectives to support our quick guys so, with tomorrow being a definite GC day and Sunday being another sprint, today was the breakaway day for me,” said Clarke. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy but thought why not give it a shot. It was a really nice breakaway, super high quality riders in there, but unfortunately Visma had other ideas. I didn’t expect them to control like they did. In the last few days all the GC teams have been trying to call each other’s bluff so I thought that might happen again today. But I was wrong.”

The breakaway was reeled at the foot of the San Giacomo climb, and soon after stage winner and new race leader Jonas Vingegaard launched the decisive attack. Behind, Krists Neilands dug deep in the chase group to test his legs amongst the General Classification contenders.

Neilands showed his form on the first GC day of the race and was fighting for a top-ten result on the stage however, a regrouping of two chase groups in the final kilometers saw him cross the line in 17th place, just under three minutes down on Vingegaard.

“I was up there going for what was probably the top-ten on the stage but a group came back with around three kilometers to go,” explained Neilands. “But in general, I am grateful that the team gave me a free card to try and go for GC and I can say I am quite happy with the result because I had no idea how I would feel. A big thank you to my teammates who helped me today. It was good to see that the legs are there. Today was a super hard day, tomorrow is a super big day, and we will try to survive again.”

Ahead of the final weekend of racing, Neilands now sits in 15th place on the General Classification.

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