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Sunday, March 10, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. - Mahatma Gandhi
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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
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Aleksandr Vlasov's Team Bora-hansgrohe:
Due to wintry weather conditions, today's stage was shortened from 173km to 104km and the final climb moved to the 15.3 km long and 5.7 percent steep Madone d'Utelle. After the hopes set by BORA - hansgrohe weren’t fully reached so far, the team showed its strong side today. With a little less than 5km to the finish, Aleksandr Vlasov attacked on the final climb. The reduced group of favourites, which also included teammate Primož Roglič, initially let the BORA - hansgrohe rider go and he was able to extend his lead to around 20 seconds. Only then did the small chasing group react. However, Vlasov skillfully exploited the indecision of his pursuers to secure his first win of the season. In the sprint behind, Evenepoel finished second while Roglič took a strong third place. As a result of today’s racing, Roglič moves up to 6th in GC, while Vlasov now sits in 10th overall.
Aleksandr Vlasov wins Paris-Nice stage seven.
From the Finish Line:
"I am very happy to have won here. It's one of the most important WorldTour stage races. It's also my training area and I know the roads well. I’m just super happy. I felt good today and the plan was either to go for the win with Primoz or to follow attacks. But then a favourable moment presented itself and I decided to go for it. The conditions were tough with the rain and cold. I was freezing on the last two kilometres, especially on my arms, so it's nice to have taken the win and be rewarded for all that suffering!" - Aleksandr Vlasov
"Today’s stage was modified due to bad weather conditions, so the mountaintop finish at La Madone d'Utelle was new. The first part of the stage was twisting and tricky, so we decided to focus on riding in a good position and saving energy. It was clear that all the action would occur on the final climb, which it did. The idea was to ride up there as long as possible with Primoz on the wheels of the first riders, and to have Aleks there to anticipate any moves. In the end, Aleks attacked. He was brought back at first, but kept at it and then eventually went clear. It’s a well-deserved win for the entire team, which has been riding well together the whole week. Chapeau to Aleks and the team.” – Patxi Vila, Sports Director
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Here's the Paris-Nice report from GC leader Brandon McNulty's UAE Team Emirates:
Brandon McNulty suffered through to maintain the yellow jersey and the lead in Paris-Nice heading into the final stage after battling through rain and tough opposition on the penultimate day of racing in France.
Brandon McNulty will go into the final stage wearing the GC leader's yellow jersey.
The peloton battled low temperatures and rain on the shortened stage from Nice to La Madone d’Utelle(104km) where the final climb would blow the race to pieces.
McNulty didn’t completely blow up and managed to hold onto the yellow jersey ahead of the final stage, but did lose some time to his compatriot Matteo Jorgenson (Visma -LAB) and will only start four seconds ahead of his compatriot on stage 8.
McNulty: “I was pretty cold and tired – it wasn’t such a long stage but always full gas so I was happy to get through it. I had a bit of a bad moment in the cold and my legs didn’t respond but I fought as hard as I could and kept the jersey for another day. Tomorrow will be a tough fight and it’s been a really hard race so we’ll do our best to defend the jersey and take it home.”
Meanwhile at Tirreno Adriatico Juan Ayuso finished at the head of affairs after Jonas Vingegaard (Visma LAB) again put in a dominant display to take stage 6 from Sassoferrato to Cagli (Monte Petrano)(180km). Ayuso acted quickly to jump on the wheel of Vingegaard though would become distanced and settle for 2nd place ahead of Jai Hindley in 3rd.
Isaac Del Toro continued to show his talent by coming home in 4th place and moving up to 4th in the GC.
Ayuso: “I felt better than yesterday. I had a mechanical problem but the team did a great job to get me back in the race and kept me safe all day. Today Vingegaard was again stronger than the rest. I think I was a bit stronger than yesterday and tried to go with him but couldn’t quite hold his wheel so myself and Hindley set a hard rhythm to the the line and minimised our losses.”
And here's the Paris-Nice report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
On a different route from the one initially planned, due to weather conditions, the Paris-Nice riders covered 104 kilometers on Saturday towards La Madone d’Utelle. The “Race to the Sun”, however, did not live up to its name, as the rain followed the peloton all day long. Aleksandr Vlasov won the battle between the favorites at the top, which Quentin Pacher reached in 23rd position. Time for the last stage tomorrow around Nice.
Due to the risk of snow at 1,400 meters of altitude, Paris-Nice organizers had to reconsider their plans earlier this week. The summit finish first planned at Auron after climbing La Colmiane was therefore replaced by the lone climb of La Madone d’Utelle (15 km at 5.7%) on Saturday, on the eve of the final day. This seventh stage was also reduced to “only” 104 kilometres, but it still proved to be particularly demanding given the weather conditions.
The peloton gets a rainy start to the day's racing. ASO photo
While Martijn Tusveld, Benjamin Thomas and Johan Jacobs managed to establish the day’s breakaway after a handful of kilometres, the peloton quickly organized for a continuous pursuit in the rain. “The plan was to have Quentin in the breakaway with some others to support him, but other teams had other ideas”, said William Green. “Ineos had a lot of confidence in Bernal and kept the breakaway at 1’30. It was a strong chase from the peloton”. On the tricky route leading to the Madone d’Utelle, the riders also had to be attentive.
After 90 kilometers without any break, the peloton was actually made of only sixty men at the bottom of the last climb. The final attacker, Johan Jacobs, was caught right after, and the favorites group went away, without the riders of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team being able to join the fight.
Aleksandr Vlasov won the stage after fifteen kilometres of climbing, Brandon McNulty kept his yellow jersey, while Quentin Pacher reached the summit in twenty-third position, which put him in twenty-second place overall. “Today ended up being an even harder day than what we thought”, explained William. “It was forecasted maybe to rain, but it was a lot of rain the whole day. Unfortunately David is still not 100% after his crash earlier in the week and couldn’t contest the final”. The last chances of results are therefore postponed until this Sunday, on a short but very hilly stage 8 around Nice. “Tomorrow will be another super hard day”, concluded William.
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We posted the report from winner Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the results.
Here's the report from the race organizer:
On the queen climb of this Tirreno-Adriatico, Monte Petrano, victory went to the strongest climber. Even Tadej Pogačar, his biggest rival, said it no more than two days ago: “On the climb, Jonas Vingegaard is the strongest of all“.
Jonas Vingegaard solos across the finish line. RCS Sport photo
Admittedly, it is quite strange, since he comes from Denmark, whose highest ‘mountain’, Møllehøj, is a hill 170 metres above sea level. But Jonas is an extraordinary athlete, one of those to whom mother nature has bestowed a talent that only a select few are ever given. Chances are he does not even train any more than his colleagues, but he succeeds at everything with such ease that he seems to have come from another galaxy, or at least from another planet. When the road ramps up, his opponents are forced to settle for second place at best. “Jonas has a different gear,” said Juan Ayuso, who, after winning the opening time trial in Lido di Camaiore, had raised hopes for a tighter match which eventually did not occur.
Today the captain of Team Visma-Lease a Bike attacked from a trio comprising the top three on the GC. Bora-hansgrohe approached Monte Petrano (10.1km at 8%) with determination, tearing the peloton to shreds and paving the way for captain Jai Hindley. And the Australian went for it, but Vingegaard responded, and after a few hundred metres, the Dane was off solo. In fact, once Hindley was forced to slow down, Vingegaard launched his attack with 6 km to go and moved clear just as he did yesterday on Stage 5.
And just like yesterday, it only took one attack to make the difference and wave everyone goodbye. Ayuso tried to respond this time but had to admit defeat and settle into his own pace once eaten away by lactic acid. Both the Spaniard and Hindley were quickly forced to change their target, letting go of their stage victory ambitions and concentrating on fighting for second place, both in stage finish and GC.
“I like winning,” said Vingegaard after crossing the line in dominant fashion. And in this 2024, he has made clearer than ever: three stage wins and the general classification at O Gran Camiño, two stage victories and, barring unforeseen events, the general classification at Tirreno-Adriatico. Together with countryman Mads Pedersen, he is the most successful rider of the year so far. Tomorrow he will (probably) leave the stage to the sprinters before taking the Trident home, adding another victory to his remarkable account.
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Here's the Tirreno-Adriatico report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Julian Alaphilippe showed the Soudal Quick-Step colors on the hardest stage of this edition, jumping away from the peloton as soon as the flag was waved. Joined by a couple of riders moments later, the Frenchman kept pushing, and even though the bunch chased hard in the opening kilometers of the day, they managed to forge out a comfortable lead of three minutes by the time they took on La Forchetta, the first ranked ascent.
The peloton strong out early in the stage,
The two-time World Champion, top ten on Thursday’s stage, remained at the front until with 40 kilometers to go, when the group began fragmenting. One by one, the escapees were brought back by the chasing peloton, who desired a proper GC battle on Monte Petrano, back in a cycling race for the first time in 15 years. The victory went to Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), while Kasper Asgreen was our first rider home.
Tirreno-Adriatico concludes on Sunday in San Benedetto del Tronto, where after a hilly first part of the day, the sprinters should hit center stage and fight for the spoils.
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