2023 GP de Fourmies-Le Voix du Nord (HC), France
90th edition: Sunday (Dimanche), September 10, 2023
GP de Fourmies podium history | 2022 edition | 2024 edition
Fourmies - Fourmies, 197.6 km
Tim Merlier wins the 2023 GP de Fourmies. Photio: Getty Sport
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Weather at the start/finish city of Fourmies at 3:20 PM, local time: 32C (87F), partly cloudy, with the wind from the southeast at 13 km/hr (8mph). No rain is forecast
The race: Here's the report from winner Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step.
Tim Merlier netted Soudal Quick-Step’s 46th success of the season at the GP Fourmies, where he became the first Belgian in nine years to cross the finish line victorious. It was the 30-year-old's ninth win of the season, moving him to his goal of going into double-digits in his first year with the Wolfpack – a target about which he talked recently.
An undulating 197.6km course awaited the riders at the 90th edition of the French one-day race, where after a furious start with multiple attacks, the pace relented and five riders rode clear of the peloton. As soon as this happened, Soudal Quick-Step posted Tim Declercq at the front of the bunch, and “El Tractor” did again a flawless job, keeping the gap in check before gradually reducing it with each kilometer, unfazed by the many short climbs along the route.
After the breakaway was caught, another rider tried to slip away, but our team made sure of bringing him back with three kilometers to go. Things became hectic in the finale, but Tim Merlier remained in an excellent position at all times and opened up his sprint the moment he rounded the last bend of the race, giving no chance to his opponents and sailing to a clear win.
“The team did a great job today and I must thank them for that. I also had a good feeling and lots of confidence, which helped me when I lost the boys a bit in that crazy final kilometer. I opened up the sprint early, but I had enough power to hold it, and this makes me very happy. I’m looking forward now to my next appointment, the Tour of Slovakia”, said Tim after his 32nd pro victory.
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Complete results:
197.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 44.644 km/hr
| 1 | Tim Merlier | Soudal Quick-Step | 4hr 25min 34sec |
| 2 | Gerben Thijssen | Intermarché-Circus-Wanty | s.t. |
| 3 | Matteo Moschetti | Q36.5 Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 4 | Alexander Kristoff | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 5 | Paul Penhoët | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 6 | Niccolo Bonifazio | Intermarché-Circus-Wanty | s.t. |
| 7 | Arnaud Démare | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 8 | Alvaro Hodeg | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 9 | Arne Marit | Intermarché-Circus-Wanty | s.t. |
| 10 | Jason Tesson | TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 11 | Maël Guégan | CIC U Nantes Atlantique | s.t. |
| 12 | Nathan Vandepitte | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 13 | Dylan Groenewegen | Jayco-AlUla | s.t. |
| 14 | Marc Sarreau | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 15 | Karl Patrick Lauk | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 16 | Søren Wærenskjold | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 17 | Javier Serrano | EOLO-Kometa | s.t. |
| 18 | Max Walscheid | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 19 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Q36.5 Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 20 | Corey Davis | Q36.5 Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 21 | Giacomo Nizzolo | Israel-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 22 | Rick Pluimers | Tudor Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 23 | Jonathan Couanon | Nice Métropole-Côte d'Azur | s.t. |
| 24 | Matteo Trentin | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 25 | Vito Braet | Team Flanders-Baloise | s.t. |
| 26 | Cédric Beullens | Lotto Dstny | s.t. |
| 27 | Sandy Dujardin | TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 28 | Nicolas Tivani | Corratec-Selle Italia | s.t. |
| 29 | Fabio Christen | Q36.5 Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 30 | Ruben Apers | Team Flanders-Baloise | s.t. |
| 31 | Mirco Maestri | EOLO-Kometa | s.t. |
| 32 | Rait Ärm | Van Rysel-Roubaix-Lille Metropole | s.t. |
| 33 | Luka Mezgec | Jayco-AlUla | s.t. |
| 34 | Noa Isidore | CIC U Nantes Atlantique | s.t. |
| 35 | Alexis Renard | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 36 | Scott McGill | Human Powered Health | s.t. |
| 37 | Paul Hennequin | Nice Métropole-Côte d'Azur | s.t. |
| 38 | Ryan Gibbons | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 39 | Cyrus Monk | Q36.5 Pro Cycling | @ 3sec |
| 40 | Andrii Ponomar | Corratec-Selle Italia | s.t. |
| 41 | Mikkel Bjerg | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 42 | Brady Gilmore | Israel-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 43 | Simon Pellaud | Tudor Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 44 | Anthony Maldonado | Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 45 | Théo Delacroix | Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 46 | Emilien Jeannière | TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 47 | Simon Dehairs | Alpecin-Deceuninck | s.t. |
| 48 | Lawrence Naesen | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 49 | Lionel Taminiaux | Alpecin-Deceuninck | s.t. |
| 50 | Oliver Naesen | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 51 | Christophe Noppe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 52 | Samuele Rivi | EOLO-Kometa | s.t. |
| 53 | Bram Welten | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 54 | Manuel Oioli | Q36.5 Pro Cycling | 0:08 |
| 55 | Jens Reynders | Israel-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 56 | Damien Girard | Nice Métropole-Côte d'Azur | s.t. |
| 57 | Madis Mihkels | Intermarché-Circus-Wanty | s.t. |
| 58 | Gijs Van Hoecke | Human Powered Health | s.t. |
| 59 | Omer Goldstein | Israel-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 60 | Elmar Reinders | Jayco-AlUla | s.t. |
| 61 | Jon Rye-Johnsen | CIC U Nantes Atlantique | 0:11 |
| 62 | Campbell Stewart | Jayco-AlUla | s.t. |
| 63 | Thomas Boudat | Van Rysel-Roubaix-Lille Metropole | s.t. |
| 64 | Emmanuel Morin | CIC U Nantes Atlantique | s.t. |
| 65 | Luca De Meester | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 66 | Samuel Leroux | Van Rysel-Roubaix-Lille Metropole | s.t. |
| 67 | Jérémy Leveau | Van Rysel-Roubaix-Lille Metropole | s.t. |
| 68 | Michael Mørkøv | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 69 | Vegard Stake Laengen | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 70 | Bert Van Lerberghe | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 71 | Edouard Bonnefoix | Nice Métropole-Côte d'Azur | s.t. |
| 72 | Fabio Jakobsen | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 73 | Ludovic Robeet | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 74 | Fabio Van Den Bossche | Alpecin-Deceuninck | s.t. |
| 75 | Rick Zabel | Israel-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 76 | Norman Vahtra | Van Rysel-Roubaix-Lille Metropole | s.t. |
| 77 | Jan Stöckli | Corratec-Selle Italia | s.t. |
| 78 | Antoine Raugel | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 79 | Senne Leysen | Alpecin-Deceuninck | s.t. |
| 80 | Donavan Grondin | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 81 | Laurence Pithie | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 82 | Michael Vink | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 83 | Nolann Mahoudo | CIC U Nantes Atlantique | s.t. |
| 84 | Aaron Van Der Beken | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 85 | Robin Froidevaux | Tudor Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 86 | Nicolas Debeaumarché | Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 87 | Mason Hollyman | Israel-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 88 | Mathieu van der Poel | Alpecin-Deceuninck | s.t. |
| 89 | Florian Sénéchal | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 90 | Thomas Gachignard | Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 91 | Florian Rapiteau | Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 92 | Bryan Coquard | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 93 | Aimé De Gendt | Intermarché-Circus-Wanty | 0:25 |
| 94 | Jean-Louis Le Ny | Nice Métropole-Côte d'Azur | s.t. |
| 95 | Jordan Jegat | CIC U Nantes Atlantique | s.t. |
| 96 | Ilan Larmet | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 97 | Erik Resell | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 98 | Kelland O'Brien | Jayco-AlUla | 0:29 |
| 99 | Sebastian Kolze Changizi | Tudor Pro Cycling | 0:33 |
| 100 | Jonas Abrahamsen | Uno-X | 0:35 |
| 101 | Enzo Paleni | Groupama-FDJ | 0:44 |
| 102 | Piet Allegaert | Cofidis | 0:50 |
| 103 | Anthony Turgis | TotalEnergies | 0:56 |
| 104 | Daniel McLay | Arkéa-Samsic | 1:06 |
| 105 | Liam Slock | Lotto Dstny | 1:20 |
| 106 | Clément Russo | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 107 | Maciej Bodnar | TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 108 | Antoine Debons | Corratec-Selle Italia | s.t. |
| 109 | Frederik Frison | Lotto Dstny | 1:35 |
| 110 | Yves Lampaert | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 111 | William Blume Levy | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 112 | Fabian Lienhard | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 113 | Roel Van Sintmaartensdijk | Intermarché-Circus-Wanty | s.t. |
| 114 | Amaury Capiot | Arkéa-Samsic | 1:50 |
| 115 | Mika Heming | Tudor Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 116 | Dorian De Maeght | Bingoal-WB | 2:36 |
| 117 | Baptiste Planckaert | Intermarché-Circus-Wanty | 2:59 |
| 118 | Kenny Molly | Van Rysel-Roubaix-Lille Metropole | 3:50 |
| 119 | Tim Declercq | Soudal Quick-Step | 4:12 |
| 120 | Gage Hecht | Human Powered Health | 4:22 |
| 121 | Dries De Bondt | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 5:18 |
| 122 | Axel De Lie | Lotto Dstny | s.t. |
| 123 | Petr Kelemen | Tudor Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 124 | Bastien Tronchon | Ag2r-Citroën | 5:57 |
| 125 | Jordan Labrosse | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 126 | Pierre Gautherat | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 127 | David Dekker | Arkéa-Samsic | 7:01 |
| 128 | Felix Gros | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 129 | Maxime Jarnet | Van Rysel-Roubaix-Lille Metropole | s.t. |
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