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Tuesday, September 17, 2024

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken. - Ludwig van Beethoven

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Les Woodland's book The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories: A Five Ring Circus is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• September 18 - 22: Tour de Luxembourg
• September 18: GP de Wallonie
• September 20: Kampioenschap van Vlaamnderen
• September 21: Super 8 Classic
• September 22 - 29: World Road Cycling Championships
• October 12: Il Lombardia

Latest completed racing:

• September 15: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
• September 15: Trofeo Matteotti
• September 14: Memorial Marco Pantani
• September 13: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
• September 12: Coppa Sabatini
• September 11: Giro della Toscana
• September 8: GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
• September 8: GP de Formies
• August 17 - Sept 8: Vuelta a España
• September 3 - 8: Tour of Britain
• September 8: Bemer Cyclassics

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GP Cycliste de Montréal team reports

We posted the report from Tiesj Benoot's Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the results.

Here's the report from winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates:

Tadej Pogačar marked his 22nd personal win and the 73rd for UAE Team Emirates this season with a dominant performance at the GP Montreal.

The race, covering 209.1 km over 17 laps, initially saw a small breakaway group held in check for the first circuits. UAE Team Emirates placed Igor Arrieta on the front of the bunch for the early stages to better manage the day.

As the gap gradually closed, the favorites of the day began launching attacks with 50 km to go. It was a team effort for the Emirati squad, with Fisher-Black, Ayuso, and finally Majka setting the pace, leading to Pogačar’s decisive attack with 23 km remaining.

The Slovenian rider finished solo, repeating his success on Canadian soil after his 2022 victory, enjoying applause and greetings in the final 500 meters.

Tadej Pogacar can sit up and enjoy his impressive win.

Pogačar: “The team did a super job. We did it exactly how we wanted to. It was really great racing, and thank you to all my teammates because, without them, this plan would not go to perfection. Luckily, I also had good legs to pull it off at the end. We made it hard from early on, also to keep the break in check, and really the hard course suited me well. It was a hot day out there with lots of climbing but I’m so happy to take victory again here in Montreal.“

Second-place Pello Bilbao's Team Bahrain Victorious posted this:

Sometimes, a second-place finish can feel like a victory, and that was certainly the case for Pello Bilbao at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sunday, September 15th.

On a hot day and a highly demanding circuit (17 laps of a 12.3-kilometer course, totaling over 4,573 meters of climbing), the Basque climber delivered a remarkable performance. He attacked from a small group of chasers on the final climb, setting off alone in pursuit of race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE), who had gone solo 23km from the finish on the penultimate ascent of the Côte Camillien-Houde (2.3km at 6.2%). The Slovenian champion, maintained his lead to cross the finish line on Avenue du Parc for his second career victory at this event. Bilbao followed 24 seconds behind, finishing solo in 2nd place, with Julian Alaphilippe (SOQ) rounding out the podium in 3rd.

Pello Bilbao finishes second. Photo: Alessandro Perrone/Sprint Cycling Agency

“It feels amazing,” said a glowing Bilbao. “We came here with a strong team, confident that this could be a great opportunity. The guys did an incredible job for me, especially after Quebec. They believed in our chances, and everything went perfectly. I saved a lot of energy because they protected me throughout the race, so in the end, I just had to give my best. Catching Pogacar was impossible, but I did my own race, set my rhythm on the last climb, and made it to the finish line. This podium finish at the end of the season is a huge morale boost for the upcoming races.”

The 34-year-old secured his second top-10 finish of the week, having placed 9th just two days earlier at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec. Bahrain Victorious also celebrated another strong result from Edoardo Zambanini, who finished in the top 10 of both races, taking 10th in Quebec and 9th in Montréal.

“We can be very satisfied as a team after these two races,” commented Sports Director Michal Golas. “We’re thrilled with Pello’s podium in Montréal. The team followed the plan perfectly, staying aggressive in the latter part of the race. Matej Mohorič’s attack with 50km to go was key in forcing other teams to react and it was important to use other teams’ strength. Pello had fantastic legs today, and I’m proud that he believed in himself enough to take the risk and go solo behind Pogacar. His second place is a testament to the hard work of the entire team.”

Here's the race report from third-place Julian Alaphlippe's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Julian Alaphilippe took his first top three result in Canada, at the end of Sunday’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal – one of the season’s hardest one-day races, consisting of 17 laps of a hilly circuit that made up for a total of 209 kilometers and almost 4000 vertical meters. To add to the difficulty, the riders also had to face the heat, which took its toll on the bunch, who by the time they entered the last two laps, numbered only around two dozen riders.

t was in these final 30 kilometers of the race that Gil Gelders was caught, Soudal Quick-Step’s neo-pro being the one who animated the race the most in the first couple of hours, at first by going in the breakaway, and then fighting hard to stay at the front as much as possible, after his companions had been caught.

When Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) split the peloton with an attack some 23 kilometers from home, opening a gap that in the end proved to be decisive, Alaphilippe tried to organise a chase, instigating what quickly turned into a dangerous move. Three men joined the two-time World Champion, who was the most active there, taking some long pulls in the hope of ensuring the group a nice gap over what was left of the bunch.

On the hardest climb of the last lap, Julian was caught by the chasers, but refused to give up and got out of the saddle again, in an attempt to force another selection. The others responded and the group arrived at the finish some 40 seconds behind the winner, with the third place on the day still in play. On the hard uphill drag to the line, Alaphilippe was the strongest and sprinted to an impressive third place – his 19th podium in a World Tour one-day race.

Julian Alaphlippe at the start of 2024 Giro d'Italia stage 18. Sirotti photo

“The demanding course and the high temperatures made for a hard day, and it was important to save every ounce of energy you could. Gil’s presence in the breakaway helped us do that. When the action began in the last 20 kilometers, I played my cards and gave my best.”

“It was always going to be difficult to cut the gap to Pogacar, but I didn’t give up and tried to form a chasing group. That didn’t work, but I kept believing, and at the end of the day I am happy with my result, especially as it’s my first podium here in Canada. I like the atmosphere and the fans here, and it’s nice to be in the top three after such a difficult race. This result is also an important confidence-boost ahead of the World Championships in Zurich, where I hope to be present together with the French team”, Julian said after the penultimate World Tour one-day race of the season.

Here's the Montreal race report from fourth-place Maxim Van Gils' Team Lotto Dstny:

In the second Canadian WorldTour race of the weekend, Maxim Van Gils sprinted to a strong fourth spot. After the strong team’s performance also in GP de Québec, Lotto Dstny goes home satisfied. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) took the victory solo.

The GP de Montréal promised a much harder course than in Québec last Friday. Sixteen laps with 4500 altitude meters. Three riders escaped and rode in the front and everything came back together with three laps to the end. On the Côte Camilien-Houde Tadej Pogačar jumped, nobody stayed in the wheel and the Slovenian rider rode to the finish solo. Pello Bilbao came in second alone and in the elite group behind these two, Maxim Van Gils sprinted to fourth.

The peloton 87 kilometers into the race.

“I just miss out on the podium which is a bit unfortunate, but I’m happy with today’s performance. It was a very fast race and in the end it was just about what was left in the tank. I hoped the group would stay together to go for the sprint for the podium. In the last corner Magnus Sheffield crashed, so I had to break but in the end I think everyone was à bloque and I just came too short to take the podium. I’m happy with the feeling I had in the two races in Canada.”

Eighth-place Mike Woods' Team Israel-Premier Tech posted this report:

A front-row starting position, cheers from the sizeable crowd every time they saw the national champion’s jersey, and good legs showing little sign of post-Vuelta fatigue: the only thing missing for Mike Woods at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sunday was the podium finish he and IPT arguably deserved.

Woods finished eighth in the season’s second Canadian UCI WorldTour one-day race, with teammate Jakob Fuglsang placing 16th after both were in the group that contested the sprint for third place.

Mike Woods winning Stage 13 of the 2024 Vuelta a España. ASO photo

“This race is always one of my biggest objectives of the season and it’s basically my home race as home is not far away,” says Woods. “So, I am proud of 8th place. I was strong, I tried multiple times.

“Maybe the only reason I have a sting of disappointment is because there was so much support from the crowds, so much love, so I really wanted to honor that. I felt it throughout the course, everyone was cheering my name and giving me amazing support.”

However, looking at the bigger picture, there were plenty of positives from an unrelenting edition of the 209.1-kilometer race, most notably that Woods and Fuglsang were in podium contention after UAE Team Emirates took control late on to set up Tadej Pogačar for the victory.

Fuglsang had a late attack in his bid for third place shut down by Julian Alaphilippe (SOQ), while Woods led out the sprint approaching the line. They were backed up by a strong team performance, most notably from Hugo Houle, whose continued to dig deep in support of the team’s leaders on home soil late on into the race.

Fuglsang says: “I am really happy with my performance today as I rode a good race. It was a fast day as everyone knew that UAE Team Emirates and Pogačar would try to make it hard, which they did. With two laps to go, he went solo and nobody could follow.

“Our plan was to support Mike and hope that he could be there and maybe even with Pogi, but we ended up in a group behind. I think we were probably the strongest guys there. We tried to attack many times but it kept coming back and we didn’t manage to get away and in the end, it came to a sprint from quite a large group for third place.”

This performance in Canada continued Fuglsang’s strong second half of the 2024 season. Having impressed in support of Derek Gee at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, his experience proved invaluable during the Canadian’s GC bid at the Tour de France. He hopes to take this form into the final month of the season.

“I had quite a bad spring but since then, I have gone back to the way of training I know and what has worked for me in the past,” Fuglsang adds. “I could do a really good Tour de France and now I’ll try to ride with his form until the end of the season.”

Woods reiterated Fuglsang’s comments, especially as he looks towards the UCI World Championships road race in Zurich on Sunday September 29.

He adds: “I think I was one of the best climbers today so that gives me confidence for the World Champs in two weeks. As a team, we were a strong unit. It was great to see Jakob being aggressive and at the pointy end of the race again, almost back to his best. So it was great to see him there helping me in the final.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t quite get the result I wanted but I can’t be too upset with 8th place and also, just how I animated the race. I think I was on the attack a lot so it gives me confidence for the final races of the season.”

Here's the report from 11th-place Romain Bardet's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:

After Friday’s racing, the peloton took on GP Montréal this Sunday where a hillier and more challenging parcours awaited them with multiple laps around the city. It was a fast start to proceedings with multiple attacks but eventually things settled down when a three rider break went clear. With all Team dsm-firmenich PostNL riders in the peloton, focus remained on staying safe and saving energy as the laps counted down.

Some strong riding by the team saw Romain Bardet, Warren Barguil and Kevin Vermaerke well positioned to make the dramatically reduced peloton of around 50 riders when the pace really ramped up, and the race headed into the final 20 kilometres. On the longest climb of the course Pogacar made his race winning move, while Bardet battled hard to make it into the next selection as the group thinned down even further. The closing lap saw multiple attacks, with Bardet himself trying several moves but unfortunately he couldn’t slip away, ultimately fighting it out to an 11th place finish come the line in a the reduced sprint for the final podium spot.

Romain Bardet after stage 1 of the 2024 Tour de France. Sirotti photo

Bardet expressed: “It was a pretty tough race as expected, but I had positive feeling on a circuit that I like. Everyone in the team did their best to stay upfront and help us. Personally, I missed a bit of positioning and strength to go for a top result in the final but fighting for a podium place is a good start to launch the autumn classic campaign.”

And here's the Montréal race report from Team Groupama-FDJ:

The second Canadian round did not prove as successful as the first one for Groupama-FDJ. Two days after Rudy Molard’s third place in Quebec City, Yvon Caër’s riders struggled a bit more in Montreal and were unable to get involved in the final battle for victory or a top result. Rudy Molard, Romain Grégoire and Valentin Madouas all finished around 30th place at the finish, which ultimately made for a “mixed” stay in Canada.

Two days after the puncher-sprinters got their chance in Quebec City, the puncher-climbers also had a profile to take advantage of in Montreal, on the usual circuit of the Canadian metropolis. The 12.3-kilometre circuit included the Camillien-Houde climb (2.3 km at 6.2%) and was supposed to be repeated sixteen times, which was one lap less than in previous years. Nonetheless, the total elevation gain was still around 4,000 metres.

As for the scenario, it was crystal clear. Dries De Bondt, Gil Gelders and Michael Leonard took the lead early on, UAE Team Emirates took the chase in hand, then gradually made it hard in the last third of the race. “The plan was to make sure that Valentin, Romain and Rudy could be in the final and follow until the moment when UAE would really push on,” explained Yvon Caër. “The plan went as we wanted until Pogacar attacked.” Due to a high, continuous pace for several laps, thanks to the work of the Slovenian’s teammates, only about fifty riders were still in contention when the peloton exploded on the penultimate climb of Camillien-Houde, twenty-four kilometres from the finish.

It was also when Groupama-FDJ lost their ambitions for the day. “We couldn’t follow Pogacar, nor the group of twenty riders behind him”, Yvon said. “We have no regrets because they were there where they needed to be when they needed to be, but they were just not strong enough. Valentin and Romain may have suffered a bit from the heat, but we’re disappointed because we expected to be higher in the ranking. We didn’t miss much, but we still missed something.”

The French trio was therefore unable to fight for the top 10, while Tadej Pogacar flew towards a solo success. On the line, Rudy Molard was the first to cross the line in 26th position, 2’20 behind the Slovenian, followed by Romain Grégoire (29th) and Valentin Madouas (32nd). “The results are very mixed,” confessed Yvon.

“We expected a very good result in Montreal, and we eventually got it in Quebec. We know that we are more often disappointed than happy in high-level sport, so we must therefore fully appreciate Rudy’s third place on Friday. Thibaud is also a great satisfaction of the weekend. He’s taking new steps. He was still with Romain, Rudy and Valentin when there were fifty guys left in Montreal. He is discovering, and he will be able to support them very far in this type of race in the future. I am also confident that the guys have done the races they needed to perform at the World Championships, if they are selected, and for the rest of the season”.

 

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