2024 GP d'Ouverture - La Marseillaise (1.1)

45th edition: Sunday, January 28, 2024

GP d'Ouverture - La Marseillaise podium history | 2023 edition | Course map | Race photos | Start list

Marseille - Marseille, 167.5 km

Kevin Geniets wins ahead of Alex Baudin. Sirotti photo

Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the start/finish city of Marseille at 1:30 PM, local time: 16C (61F), fair, with the wind from the southeast at 21 km/hr (13 mph). No rain is forecast.

The Race: Here's the report from winner Kevn Geniets' Team Grouapama-FDJ:

What a day, from beginning to end, for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team! Just a few hours after Laurence Pithie’s victory in Australia, the French team scored its second win of the season on the Grand Prix de Marseille-La Marseillaise on Sunday thanks to Kevin Geniets. Also a former member of “La Conti”, the 27-year-old Luxembourger conquered the opening race of the French calendar after a winning move with Alex Baudin, and the key role of Rémy Rochas. Usually a “super-domestique”, the young man also scored his first professional success outside the national championship. Quentin Pacher concluded this great day with sixth place. 

On Sunday morning, the Groupama-FDJ members set to take part in the Grand Prix de Marseille woke up with a small pressure. The one put by their own colleagues on the other side of the world, where they won the first WorldTour Classic of the season. “It was positive pressure,” said Yvon Caër, the team’s sports director. “Another group won, and we told ourselves: “now it’s our turn”. It boosted us! There were smiles everywhere at breakfast. We belong to the same team; it creates a positive momentum. It doesn’t take the pressure off, but it relieves, and it clicked well with the very motivated group we had. Personally, it relieves me more than anything else, and that also prevents from making decisions in a nervous state.”

The day was already a real success for the French squad, but they did not intend to stop there. In the first round of the Coupe de France FDJ, the battle plan was clear. “The goal was first of all to make sure not to let an important breakaway go at the start thanks to our youngsters from the Conti Maxime [Decomble] and Thibaud [Gruel],” introduced Yvon. This was done quite well since only five riders took the lead and were easily controlled by the peloton. “Then, we had to be in good position at the foot of the Route des Crêtes and we sacrificed Thibaud, Maxime, Marc [Sarreau] and Cyril [Barthe] so that our three climbers/punchers were right up there at that point,” added the Breton sports director.

With forty kilometres to go, the bunch passed the top of the Pas d’Oullier, the Groupama-FDJ riders avoided a crash on the descent and were able to execute the plan from the first slopes of the major climb of the day, a few minutes later. “Rémy’s mission was to make the race explode on the Route des Crêtes in order to make a selection,” explained Yvon. “He had to initiate the offensive approach, then Kevin had to follow those who reacted to go”. The theory soon became real. “We had a very precise plan which was to avoid a sprint and play offensive cards, in particular with Kevin who is coming out of an altitude camp and who is in good shape,” added the new-coming climber. “We managed to tick the entire to-do list. It’s rare for this to happen. Everyone did their job to perfection, we arrived very well positioned at the foot of the route des Crêtes and I had to open up the race. Then, Alex Baudin attacked from the peloton with Kevin in his wheel, I waited for them a little, then I pulled as hard as possible.”

The Groupama-FDJ rider held on until a kilometre from the summit. “It went as the textbook said,” continued Yvon Caër. “But that always depends on what they have in their legs, and Kevin and Rémy were among the strongest. We got the proof when they attacked. Rémy kept on going at a very high tempo and the goal was to make the biggest gap possible to disrupt the chase. He gave so much that got distanced when Baudin attacked. Kevin didn’t react immediately, but I know he has a big engine, that he’s a pretty good climber, and I wasn’t worried. He managed his effort very well and they went together.”

At the top of the Route des Crêtes, the leading duo had a gap of around twenty seconds over a peloton made up of barely twenty riders, including Quentin Pacher and Rémy Rochas. “We were present everywhere, it allowed us to be solid and to neutralize the attacks or the chase behind,” said Yvon. Starting the last climb of the day, the Col de la Gineste, the gap was reduced to fifteen seconds, but the chasing group was down to fifteen men and started to disorganize. The two men up front took advantage of it to increase their lead to forty-five seconds, and only Kévin Vauquelin managed to place himself in-between and get closer to just twenty seconds as they approached the summit.

Then came the descent towards Marseille, but it wasn’t yet time to rest. “I told Kevin to work together with Baudin as long as possible and to ride hard until the last 500 meters because they were still putting pressure behind,” added Yvon. Kevin Geniets and his last rival cooperated until the flamme rouge, at which point the Frenchman decided to stay in the wheel of the Luxembourger. The latter therefore led the two-man sprint set to decide the day’s winner. “I told myself: it’s today or never,” commented Kevin. “I had enough confidence in my sprint to start quite early. My strength really lies in the lactic effort, so I thought that I had to make a really long sprint to beat him this way.”

And so he did, as he launched his sprint with almost 300 metres to go. Alex Baudin tried to keep the wheel but was forced to sit down 50 metres from the line, which made it possible for Kevin Geniets to let his joy explode. “With the tailwind, we know that the freshness and the power make the difference,” said Yvon. “I wasn’t even worried.” As for the rider himself, he was above all relieved by this long-awaited personal victory. “This is my sixth professional season and I have often worked for the leaders, so it feels good to finally win a race,” he said. “At the start of this season, I have my own chance. The team put a little pressure on me, but I also put it on myself. I really wanted to finally win a race. It’s an important day in my career.”

“It’s always great to see this kind of rider being rewarded,” argued Yvon. “A protocol was set up this year so that he could be in good shape from the start, because we know that he’s doing very well at this period of the year. He made sure to come in even better condition for late January/early February because the period and the profiles suit him well. There was a real team strategy behind it, and the fact of being slightly better in these races allows him to win because he is just strong basically. Being usually a domestique, we could fear that he would hesitate a little. But he didn’t. He was very determined.”

At 27 years old, the rider from Luxemburg achieved his first win outside his borders, in an international event, and brought the second win of the season to Groupama-FDJ in less than 12 hours. “We did a great race and Kevin’s victory rewarded us,” added Rémy. “It’s really nice and motivating to start off like this, and it makes you want to get back to it with the team very soon. There is a great momentum, and we hope it will continue”. “These moments make a team, and we need to enjoy it,” concluded Yvon. “Cycling is sometimes irrational. We won two races on the same day, then sometimes there are more difficult times. When you win very early, it brings serenity and happiness! And with that you can go very far.”

Complete Results:

167.5 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.546 km/hr

1	Kevin Geniets	Groupama-FDJ	4hr 7min 52sec
2	Alex Baudin	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
3	Kévin Vauquelin	Arkea-B&B Hotels	@ 10sec
4	Pierre Gautherat	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	1:14
5	Pau Miquel Delgado	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
6	Quentin Pacher	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
7	Jenno Berckmoes	Lotto Dstny	s.t.
8	Eduard Prades	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
9	Matteo Trentin	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Damien Girard	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
11	Valerio Conti	Corratec-Vini Fantini	s.t.
12	Brent Van Moer	Lotto Dstny	s.t.
13	Thomas Champion	Cofidis	s.t.
14	Rémy Rochas	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
15	Markus Hoelgaard	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
16	Aurélien Paret-Peintre	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	1:19
17	Alexis Vuillermoz	TotalEnergies	1:25
18	Florian Stork	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
19	Anthony Perez	Cofidis	s.t.
20	Jonas Abrahamsen	Uno-X Mobility	2:04
21	Timo Kielich	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
22	Amaury Capiot	Arkea-B&B Hotels3	s.t.
23	David González	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
24	Damien Touzé	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
25	Alexandre Delettre	Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93	s.t.
26	Joel Nicolau	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	2:09
27	Giacomo Villa	Bingoal-WB	2:18
28	Axel Laurance	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
29	Jelle Vermoote	Bingoal-WB	s.t.
30	Francisco Galván	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
31	Clément Braz Afonso	CIC U Nantes Atlantique	s.t.
32	Marco Tizza	Bingoal-WB	s.t.
33	Mathieu Burgaudeau	TotalEnergies	s.t.
34	Kenneth Van Rooy	Bingoal-WB	s.t.
35	Gorka Sorarrain	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
36	Marco Murgano	Corratec-Vini Fantini	s.t.
37	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
38	Arthur Kluckers	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
39	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
40	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
41	Lucas Eriksson	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
42	Mathis Le Berre	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
43	Marco Brenner	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
44	Michal Schlegel	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
45	Jérémy Cabot	Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93	s.t.
46	Magnus Cort	Uno-X Mobility	3:40
47	Maxime Jarnet	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
48	Emmanuel Morin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
49	Jonathan Couanon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
50	Léo Danès	CIC U Nantes Atlantique	s.t.
51	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto Dstny	s.t.
52	Alec Segaert	Lotto Dstny	s.t.
53	Théo Delacroix	Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93	s.t.
54	Lucas Bénéteau	Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93	s.t.
55	Jarrad Drizners	Lotto Dstny	s.t.
56	Xandro Meurisse	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
57	Harrison Wood	Cofidis	s.t.
58	Luca Van Boven	Bingoal-WB	s.t.
59	Mikel Retegi	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
60	Arno Claeys	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
61	Rasmus Tiller	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
62	Andrii Ponomar	Corratec-Vini Fantini	s.t.
63	Thomas Silva	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
64	Alan Jousseaume	TotalEnergies	s.t.
65	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
66	Urko Berrade	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
67	Alexis Gougeard	Cofidis	s.t.
68	Alexis Guérin	Philippe Wagner-Bazin	6:24
69	Valentin Ferron	TotalEnergies	s.t.
70	Joris Delbove	Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93	s.t.
71	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	8:22
72	Alex Raimondi	Beltrami TSA-Tre Colli	s.t.
73	Mulu Hailemichael	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	8:34
74	Maël Guégan	CIC U Nantes Atlantique	8:42
75	Matisse Julien	CIC U Nantes Atlantique	s.t.
76	Senne Leysen	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
77	Gilles De Wilde	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
78	Jan Stöckli	Corratec-Vini Fantini	s.t.
79	Edoardo Burani	Beltrami TSA-Tre Colli	s.t.
80	Jonas Iversby Hvideberg	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
81	Sakarias Koller Løland	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
82	Pierre-Henry Basset	CIC U Nantes Atlantique	s.t.
83	Gwen Leclainche	Philippe Wagner-Bazin	s.t.
84	Thibaud Gruel	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
85	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
86	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
87	Marc Sarreau	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
88	Axel Narbonne-Zuccarelli	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
89	Baptiste Vadic	TotalEnergies	s.t.
90	Hugo Toumire	Cofidis	s.t.
91	Valentin Retailleau	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
92	Kenny Molly	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
93	Sandy Dujardin	TotalEnergies	s.t.
94	Rémi Capron	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
95	Thibault Guernalec	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
96	Thomas Boudat	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
97	Milan Menten	Lotto Dstny	s.t.
98	Jean-Louis Le Ny	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
99	Simon Guglielmi	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
100	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	9:58
101	Jordan Jegat	TotalEnergies	10:56
102	Andrea Mifsud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	11:36
103	Artus Jaladeau	CIC U Nantes Atlantique	s.t.
104	Jules Hesters	Team Flanders-Baloise	12:16
105	Maximilien Juillard	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
106	Valentin Darbellay	Corratec-Vini Fantini	s.t.
107	Théo Bonnet	Philippe Wagner-Bazin	13:09
108	Dillon Corkery	Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93	s.t.
109	Alessandro Monaco	Corratec-Vini Fantini	13:12
110	Nicola Rossi	Beltrami TSA-Tre Colli	s.t.
111	Loic Vliegen	Bingoal-WB	s.t.
112	Cériel Desal	Bingoal-WB	s.t.
113	Kamiel Bonneu	Team Flanders-Baloise	14:19
114	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
115	Enrico Dhaeye	Philippe Wagner-Bazin	14:20
116	Robbe Ghys	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
117	Edward Planckaert	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
118	Martí Márquez	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
119	Etienne Van Empel	Corratec-Vini Fantini	s.t.
120	Andrea Biancalani	Beltrami TSA-Tre Colli	s.t.
121	Paul Hennequin	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
122	Alan Riou	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
123	Luca Mozzato	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
124	Danny Van Der Tuuk	Equipo Kern Pharma	s.t.
125	Michael Vanni	Beltrami TSA-Tre Colli	s.t.
126	Romain Cardis	Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93	s.t.
127	Giacomo Tagliavini	Beltrami TSA-Tre Colli	15:25

 

Course map:

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Grand Prix de la Marseillaise photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

Team Groupama-FDJ is presented before the race start.

Team Lotto Dstny

Team Corratec-Vini Fantini before the race.

Tudor Pro rider Matteo Trentin heads to the start.

The team cars are ready to go.

Descending the Col Du Petit Galibier

The Groupama rider is eventual race winner Kevn Geniets

Alexis Vuillermoz

And there they go...

Kevein Geniets can sit up and enjoy his victory.

Second-place Alex Baudin just after the race.

Third-place Kévin Vauquelin

The podium, from left: Alex Baudin (2nd), Kevn Geniets (1st) & Kévin Vauquelin (3rd)

Winner Kevin Geniets

Start list with back numbers, January 27, 2023:

	DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM
1	Aurélien Paret-Peintre
2	Alex Baudin
3	Sander De Pestel
4	Pierre Gautherat
5	Jordan Labrosse
6	Valentin Retailleau
7	Damien Touzé
	GROUPAMA-FDJ
11	Cyril Barthe
12	Kevin Geniets
13	Maxime Decomble
14	Quentin Pacher
15	Rémy Rochas
16	Marc Sarreau
17	Thibaud Gruel
	ARKEA-B&B HOTELS
21	Amaury Capiot
22	Thibault Guernalec
23	Simon Guglielmi
24	Mathis Le Berre
25	Luca Mozzato
26	Alan Riou
27	Kévin Vauquelin
	COFIDIS
31	Axel Zingle
32	Thomas Champion
33	Alexis Gougeard
34	Stefano Oldani
35	Anthony Perez
36	Hugo Toumire
37	Harrison Wood
	ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK
41	Ramses Debruyne
42	Robbe Ghys
43	Timo Kielich
44	Axel Laurance
45	Senne Leysen
46	Xandro Meurisse
47	Edward Planckaert
	TOTALENERGIES
51	Mathieu Burgaudeau
52	Sandy Dujardin
53	Valentin Ferron
54	Alexis Vuillermoz
55	Jordan Jegat
56	Alan Jousseaume
57	Baptiste Vadic
	LOTTO DSTNY
61	Jenno Berckmoes
62	Jarrad Drizners
63	Sébastien Grignard
64	Milan Menten
65	Alec Segaert
66	Liam Slock
67	Brent Van Moer
	UNO-X MOBILITY
71	Jonas Abrahamsen
72	Magnus Cort
73	Markus Hoelgaard
74	Iversby Hvideberg Jonas
75	Andreas Leknessund
76	Koller Løland Sakarias
77	Rasmus Tiller
	EQUIPO KERN PHARMA
81	Pau Miquel Delgado
82	Urko Berrade
83	Danny Van Der Tuuk
84	Martí Márquez
85	Francisco Galván
86	Mikel Retegi
87	Hugo Aznar
	CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA
91	Mulu Hailemichael
92	David González
93	Thomas Silva
94	Joel Nicolau
95	Eduard Prades
96	Michal Schlegel
97	Gorka Sorarrain
	BINGOAL WB
101	Cériel Desal
102	Marco Tizza
103	Luca Van Boven
104	Kenneth Van Rooy
105	Jelle Vermoote
106	Loic Vliegen
107	Giacomo Villa
	TEAM FLANDERS-BALOISE
111	Arno Claeys
112	Alex Colman
113	Gilles De Wilde
114	Jules Hesters
115	Vincent Van Hemelen
116	Kamiel Bonneu
117	Ward Vanhoof
	TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM
121	Marco Brenner
122	Lucas Eriksson
123	Mika Heming
124	Arthur Kluckers
125	Florian Stork
126	Joel Suter
127	Matteo Trentin
	TEAM CORRATEC
131	Valerio Conti
132	Valentin Darbellay
133	Marco Murgano
134	Jan Stöckli
135	Etienne Van Empel
136	Alessandro Monaco
137	Andrii Ponomar
	SAINT MICHEL-MAVIC-AUBER 93
141	Alexandre Delettre
142	Jérémy Cabot
143	Théo Delacroix
144	Dillon Corkery
145	Joris Delbove
146	Romain Cardis
147	Lucas Bénéteau
	VAN RYSEL-ROUBAIX
151	Thomas Boudat
152	Rémi Capron
153	Célestin Guillon
154	Maxime Jarnet
155	Maximilien Juillard
156	Emmanuel Morin
157	Kenny Molly
	NICE MÉTROPOLE-CÔTE D'AZUR
161	Jonathan Couanon
162	Alexander Konijn
163	Damien Girard
164	Paul Hennequin
165	Jean-Louis Le Ny
166	Andrea Mifsud
167	Axel Narbonne-Zuccarelli
	BELTRAMI TSA-TRE COLLI
171	Alex Raimondi
172	Andrea Biancalani
173	Edoardo Burani
174	Gabriel Fede
175	Nicola Rossi
176	Michael Vanni
177	Giacomo Tagliavini
	PHILIPPE WAGNER/BAZIN
181	Alan Boileau
182	Thomas Devaux
183	Alexis Guérin
184	Alexandre Kess
185	Gwen Leclainche
186	Enrico Dhaeye
187	Théo Bonnet
	CIC-U-NANTES ATLANTIQUE
191	Yaël Joalland
192	Pierre-Henry Basset
193	Clément Braz Afonso
194	Léo Danès
195	Maël Guégan
196	Artus Jaladeau
197	Matisse Julien