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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

You speak of Lord Byron and me; there is this great difference between us. He describes what he sees I describe what I imagine. Mine is the hardest task. - John Keats

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Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour During Covid-19, Better Late Than Never is available in both Kindle eBook and Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• March 29: Route Adélie de Vitré
• March 30: Gran Premio Miguel Indurain
• March 30: Volta Limburg Classic
• March 31: Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders)

Latest completed racing:

• March 27: Dwars door Vlaanderen
• March 27: Paris-Camembert Lepetit
• March 18 - 24: Volta a Catalunya
• March 24: Ghent - Wevelgem
• March 24: La Roue Tourangelle
• March 19 - 23: Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali
• March 22: E3 Saxo Bank Classic
• March 20: Classic Brugge - De Panne
• March 16: Milano - Sanremo
• March 16: Classic Loire Atlantique
• March 15: Brendene Koksijde Classic
• March 14: GP de Denain

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Dwars door Vlaanderen team reports

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

Here's the report from winner Matteo Jorgensen's & Wout van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Matteo Jorgensen has once again added lustre to his already fine season. The American proved to be the strongest in the final of Dwars door Vlaanderen after a perfectly played team race with Tiesj Benoot. For Team Visma | Lease a Bike it was a day with a smile and a tear. The team lost Wout van Aert during the race after a bad crash.

Matteo Jorgensen solos across the line. Sirotti photo

Jan Tratnik squeezed the brakes after a few dozen kilometers. The Slovenian was still suffering too much from his crash in Gent-Wevelgem.

With just under seventy kilometers to go, the pace increased significantly. Team Visma | Lease a Bike took the initiative of the race. A big crash at high speed then completely disrupted the race. As one of the main victims, Van Aert sat groaning in pain on the asphalt. Visibly affected and badly injured, the Belgian left the race a few moments later in an ambulance. At the hospital, it was later revealed that Van Aert broke his collarbone and several ribs. As a result, Van Aert will not participate in the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race.

However, there was not much time to think about their teammate's serious crash for Jorgenson and Benoot. The two were forced to change tack and ended up in a strong leading group of six. It was Benoot who smoked out the competition several times, allowing Jorgenson to launch an all-decisive attack with seven kilometers to go. The American thus booked his second victory of the season after the final victory in Paris-Nice. The victory tally for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike men's team in 2024 shoots up to eighteen.

"It's incredible. This season is really surpassing my wildest dreams," Jorgensen stammered after the race. "The presence of Tiesj allowed us to play off the situation as a duo. We did that perfectly. The situation bombed us as favorites, but we just had to do it. Fortunately, we were able to do it. I'm very happy with my first win in a one-day race."

Soon the American's thoughts turn to his crashed teammate. "My attention is with Wout at the moment. I hope he will recover quickly. I was near him and saw it happen. Right away I knew it was wrong. It was hard to turn the switch, but we had no choice," stated the first American winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen.

Benoot, eventually fourth, recounted his findings. "We were ready with the team to ignite the race. At I think eighty kilometers per hour, quite a few riders, including Wout, crashed down. I had him in my head for the rest of the race. But the switch had to be turned. We did everything we could to win the race. Matteo was very strong and I'm glad he finished it off. With my own condition today, I am also satisfied. However, that feeling doesn't stick with me. I am very happy with Matteo's victory, but at the same time I feel terrible for Wout," Benoot said.

Here's the report from third-place Stefan Küng's Team Groupama-FDJ:

Two years after his third place in the E3 Saxo Classic, and after a frustrating start to the spring Classics’ campaign, Stefan Küng returned to the podium of a “Flemish” Classic this Wednesday. From Roeselare to Waregem, the Swiss rider showed good form on Dwars door Vlaanderen to take third place, beaten for victory by Matteo Jorgenson and the Visma-Lease a Bike’s numbers. This also is the first big result for Groupama-FDJ in Belgium this year, while Valentin Madouas also obtained a decent thirteenth place. A good sign before the major goal which is the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.

The podium, from left: Jonas Abrahamsen (2nd), Matteo Jorgenson (1st), & Stefan Küng (3rd). Sirotti photo

Whether for a rehearsal or to (re)gain confidence, the Dwars door Vlaanderen was anyway the final race for the Classics riders before the “Ronde”. Over a much shorter distance (188 km) and without the main and iconic climbs, the race yet promised to be quite different. The fight for the breakaway also lasted fifty kilometers from Roeselare. “Eleven got in the lead, in two consecutive waves,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “However, we know that the breakaway can go far on this kind of race, especially since there were good riders in front, so the pace was high straight away.” The bunch therefore gave barely more than three minutes to Dries De Bondt, Jonas Abrahamsen, Casper Pedersen, Pascal Eenkhoorn or Mathias Norsgaard before coming to the first bergs. As soon as they entered the last hundred kilometres, the tension intensified, especially approaching the Knokteberg and the Kortekeer. Despite being in perfect position, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team still experienced a serious setback with Laurence Pithie puncturing.

“He really suffered a flat tire at the wrong time, and we were quite far away because of the small roads,” Frédéric said. “After changing bikes, he tried to come back, but when he did, there were splits and he immediately found himself out of the game. The race opened up precisely at that point, and it was over for him. He kept on going and going, but it was too complicated.”

Within the peloton, the first selection happened in the Berg ten Houte, which Stefan Küng overcame in the first positions. A small bunch broke away until the day’s major event occurred, with a heavy crash on the descent leading to the Kanarieberg. “The crash brought down a lot of favorites,” said Frédéric, referring to Van Aert, Pedersen and Stuyven. “It changed the race’s momentum quite a bit.” “It was a bit hectic at that moment, I just moved up in the group, and right after I heard the crash behind me,” added Stefan. “I think everyone was a bit shocked at first, then Matteo Jorgenson re-opened the race in the Kanarieberg.”

With 65 kilometres to go, five men broke away from the peloton including Stefan Küng, Matteo Jorgenson, Tiesj Benoot, Michael Valgren and Alberto Bettiol. “We had to pull straight away because there were portions that could help the groups behind to come back, and we are always afraid that the sprinters’ teams will organize,” said Frédéric. “We also had to quickly get back to the leading group to try to drop some riders in the hills, because we knew it would be more difficult to do so in the final.” The chasing group, which grew to six after Joshua Tarling bridged across, ultimately caught the breakaway after almost twenty-five kilometres, on the climb of Ladeuze.

After this hill, five morning fugitives managed to hang on to the six “favorites”. Meanwhile, the gap on the next group increased to one minute and a half, which made the victory almost guaranteed to the leading men. Following an acceleration by Stefan Küng in a cobbled sector with thirty kilometres to go, only seven were left in contention. The Swiss rider once again showed his strength by chasing down Bettiol after the Nokereberg or Jorgenson about fifteen kilometres from the finish. Yet, while the Italian was dropped because of cramps in the final, the rider from Groupama-FDJ still had to deal with two men from Visma-Lease a Bike. After an effort to catch Benoot on the day’s final climb at Nokere, he got surprised by Jorgenson’s counterattack just before the last cobbled sector, with seven kilometres to go.

“We didn’t want Stefan to be caught behind some outsiders while he had very good legs,” Frédéric explained. “In the end, we don’t have too many regrets because he didn’t make a mistake. It wasn’t easy to manage with the two Visma-Lease a Bike’s riders.” The Swiss rider confirmed it himself: “They had the numbers, and they played it well. I was probably the strongest with them, but it was impossible for me to win this race. They are very strong riders and they played it well. There also wasn’t a hard enough climb in the final to make a difference. When there are two against one and the others are just looking at me because they’re on the limit, then it’s really difficult”.

While Jorgenson rode to victory, Stefan Küng tried to ride as best as possible to secure the day’s podium. Second place was ultimately decided in a sprint, and he was only beaten by Abrahamsen. “It’s nice to be on the podium,” he said. “For sure we race to win, but I think I did the maximum given the situation.” “We finally have the result that we were missing,” added Frédéric. “Until then, we were up there in all the races, but it had not paid off. Today, there is the podium and the way to take it, so that’s good. This bodes well for Sunday. Taking third in Dwars door Vlaanderen gives morale to everyone. The goals are clear for Sunday and we will get to the Ronde with a lot of motivation.”

Valentin Madouas also finished in a solid thirteenth place on Wednesday. “Today is positive towards the Tour of Flanders,” confirmed Stefan. “Normally, we will have three cards to play with Laurence, Valentin and myself. The last two years I was in contention at the Ronde, and the goal is to be there this year too. I’m ready and looking forward to Sunday. The cobbled climbs normally suit me better. I also feel like I’m getting better day by day. Today is the best I felt in all these races, and I still feel fresh.”

Julian Alaphilippe's Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this report:

Casper Pedersen produced an impressive display in Dwars door Vlaanderen, which despite being under 200 kilometers and featuring only twelve hills, ended up being one of the most entertaining classics of the season. In his second season with Soudal Quick-Step, the Dane booked a place in the strong breakaway that formed late in the race, after 50 kilometers, helping the 11-man men group build a two-minute advantage over a peloton that initially was in no rush to bring them back.

A proper chase was ignited in the final 80 kilometers and the gap began to drop, but a huge crash that occurred with 60 kilometers to go completely altered the race, as many of the favourites were forced to abandon. Soon after, a small but strong group rode away, and the speed was incessant there, and as a result the margin of the leaders was cut to just 20 seconds.

Casper continued to ride a valiant race, accelerating at one point as they took on another climb and leaving everything out there even after the chasers bridged across, but the huge effort he put in from the beginning of the day eventually took its toll on the brave Dane. The 28-year-old was distanced on a cobblestone segment, despite his best efforts to remain with the rest of the leaders.

Julian Alaphilippe before the race start. Sirotti photo

In the end, it was Julian Alaphilippe who finished as our best man at the race won by Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) with a late attack, as the Frenchman came home together with a large chasing group.

And here’s the race report from John Degenkolb's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL returned to action for mid-week racing in the Flemish classics, gearing up for the final test before the Ronde van Vlaanderen this upcoming weekend. The race proved fast and hectic right from the start, but thanks to some solid teamwork, Niklas Märkl managed to secure a spot in the breakaway. However, despite the promising start, misfortune struck. Niklas was forced to abandon the breakaway due to a mechanical issue, and shortly after, Nils Eekhoff had to withdraw from the race following a crash.

Further complications arose with another significant crash and the formation of echelons, resulting in significant splits in the peloton. John Degenkolb, however, managed to navigate through the chaos and bridge into the first major chasing group. While the race leaders battled for victory, John put in a strong effort to sprint to a solid 20th place finish from the chasing bunch.

John Degenkolb before the race start. Sirotti photo

After the race, John Degenkolb commented: "Today was a super hectic edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen with stress and chaos from the beginning onwards. We did a good job initially, maintained our composure, and Niklas did an excellent job joining the breakaway. Unfortunately, he encountered a mechanical issue later and dropped out of the group, which might have cost us a good result.

"Additionally, we lost Nils due to a crash, which was also unfortunate. Casper and I were still in a good position when the major crash occurred. While Casper was held up, I managed to avoid the crash and tried to stay with the group as best as possible. In the end, I sprinted to a solid 20th place, which is okay considering my performance in Gent-Wevelgem, where I didn’t feel too good. So, this is at least something to build on for the upcoming big races."

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