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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature. - Adam Smith
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
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The Tour organization released this info:
The beginning to the 112th edition of the Tour de France has been presented at a press conference in Lille, the administrative centre of the Nord department. In 2025, the Grand Départ will focus on the qualities of the entire Hauts-de-France region, the Nord department and the European metropolis of Lille.
The date of 5th July has been set for the first stage, whose route will form a loop around Lille. Next, the Pas-de-Calais department will have pride of place as the pack crosses it from east to west between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer. After that, the pack will then set off from Valenciennes, which makes its return to the route of the Tour after a 34-year absence. Dunkirk, which hosted the Grand Départ in 2001 as well as a stage start on the Tour in 2022 will be welcoming the finish of the third stage. Lastly, the start in Amiens will be the last opportunity to thank the inhabitants of the Hauts-de-France region for their welcome, before the Tour heads off to new horizons.
Northern France will be welcoming new giants. A far cry from the imposing puppets we are used to seeing at carnivals, fairs, special street markets or on Paris-Roubaix, these 176 ones will be of human size and riding bikes, ready to do battle through the plains, valleys and mountains of France. Northern France knows all about cycling giants: 2 winners (Maurice Garin, an adopted northerner, in 1903, and Henri Cornet in 1904); 7 Yellow Jersey wearers (Jean Alavoine in 1922, Amédée Fournier in 1939, José Catieau in 1973, Martial Gayant in 1987, Cédric Vasseur in 1997, Laurent Desbiens in 1998 and Christophe Moreau in 2001); plus a legend in Jean Stablinski, with more 100 professional victories including 5 stages on the Tour de France between 1957 and 1967, a world championship title (1962) and four French championship titles (1960, 1962, 1963 and 1964).
Jean Stablinski at stage three of the 1963 Tour de France. Sirotti photo collection
For the 5th time, the Tour de France will set off from this cycling-mad region, the cradle of Paris-Roubaix. In 2001, for the most recent Grand Départ, from Dunkirk, Christophe Moreau grabbed the Yellow Jersey on completion of the prologue. This time, on a regular stage, the battle for the first Yellow Jersey of the race will be fought at high speed and the victor will have to be on top form to triumph in the land of the giants.
The European metropolis of Lille, the first site to host this Grand Départ, will also be the site for the edition’s first finish. On a stage that will form a loop around Lille, the wind will be a decisive factor: on roads open to the elements, the riders will have to be on their guard to avoid getting caught out. The fight for the best climber’s jersey should act as a curtain raiser for the battle for the Yellow Jersey: the slopes of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Mont Cassel (via its cobbled side) and the Mont Noir, forty kilometres from the finishing line, will be in the sights of the first breakaways of the edition. The sprinters will probably battle it out for victory at the end of a one kilometre-long straight, at the foot of the citadel.
The following day, the peloton will leave the Nord department to cross through the Pas-de-Calais for a very tough finale on the Côte d’Opale before the fight for stage victory in Boulogne-sur-Mer. The end of this second stage, which is tailor made for punchers, will be no easy task for the previous day’s winner if he is a pure sprinter. In addition to the upwardly inclined final straight, the slopes at Saint-Etienne-au-Mont and Outreau, located less than ten kilometres from the finishing line, mean it is very likely the pack’s tough guys will be battling for the stage win.
The race will return to the Nord department on 7th July for the last stage that will take place entirely within the confines of the Hauts-de-France region. Between Valenciennes and Dunkirk, watchfulness and tension in the peloton should be the order of the day. The start from Valenciennes and the first part of the stage do not hold any particular difficulty in store, unlike the finish, as the race nears Dunkirk, which could prove to be extremely tricky. Following the intermediate sprint at Isbergues, well-known to cycling aficionados, the route due north to the Côte de Cassel slope and then the finish of the stage promise to be spectacular if the wind invites itself to the party. On Tuesday 8th July, in Amiens, the historical capital of Picardy, it will be time for the Tour to leave the Hauts-de-France region for an as yet unknown destination...
Sheehan’s Team Israel-Premier Tech posted this:
Seb Piquet, the voice of ASO’s events, struggled to hide the shock in his voice as he interviewed Riley Sheehan for TV after this year’s Paris-Tours. “With all due respect we were not really imagining a victory from you today,” he said, prefacing his first question.
Riley Sheehan wins 2023 Paris-Tours. ASO photo
The headlines in the press reflected any air of mystery that surrounded the result. “Boulder-based Riley Sheehan stuns with victory at Paris-Tours,” reported Vélo Magazine. “Riley Sheehan, l’immense surprise,” said La Nouvelle Republique. “Riley Sheehan, la sensation!” wrote Cyclisme’Actu, while Australian broadcaster SBS opted for “Paris-Tours boilover provided by sensational stagiaire Sheehan”.
Sheehan’s win may have been surprising for some, but nobody could argue with the quality of the performance. A 23-year-old stagiaire, competing in only his sixth race for IPT, rode beautifully and maturely to win the long-running French race.
This was the 117th edition of Paris-Tours, which, with its 10 gravel sectors and energy-sapping climbs in the closing 67 kilometres, discombobulates slightly given its October calendar position.
However, it was the presence of these vineyard paths as the race heads from west to east through the Indre-et-Loire that caught Sheehan’s attention beforehand. “As a junior, cyclo-cross was my thing,” he said. “Back in Colorado, we have a ton of good dirt roads to ride on, so when I saw the parcours here I got really excited.”
Yet, as the Avenue de Grammont drew ever closer, Team Arkéa Samsic’s efforts to set up a sprint finish for Arnaud Démare looked to be working well. A sole breakaway rider was beginning to fade, and no mechanical problems had befallen the French sprinter. Cue a four-man counter-attack, involving Sheehan, who turned the race on its head approaching the final off-road sector at Rochecorbon. The numbers game still favoured the group, but suddenly five leaders, as opposed to one, tilted the balance somewhat.
By the time the race reached Tours, the quintet’s advantage was insurmountable. “I knew at two kilometres to we were about to make it, so I was able to give some wheels away and get in the perfect position,” added Sheehan.
Some riders may have lost their nerve upon seeing the finish line in the distance. Sheehan didn’t: he sat third wheel with 500 metres remaining, and only started his sprint once Joris Delbove (St Michel – Mavic – Auber93) began his. The American hit the front inside of 150 metres to go and comfortably held on to become the first rider from his country to win Paris-Tours.
Sheehan said: “This is special, this is everything. It could be a big start for me.” Having also impressed on his IPT debut at the Maryland Cycling Classic in September, followed by a sixth-place finish at the Japan Cup a month later to end the season, him signing a three-year deal with the team was just reward for his efforts. Nobody could be surprised about that.
Here’s the team’s announcement:
The development of Per Strand Hagenes is progressing rapidly. The 20-year-old rider has been part of Team Jumbo-Visma's development squad since the beginning of 2022. He will officially become part of the team's WorldTour squad in 2024. "This is what I have been working hard for all these years", he says.
Per Strand Hagenes finishes ahead of Romain Grégoire to win stage five of the 2023 4 Days of Dunkirk. Jumbo-Visma photo
At the end of March, Hagenes showed his talent among the professionals at the Ronde van Drenthe. He rode solo to victory in the Dutch one-day race. In terrible weather conditions the then-teenager took his first victory among the professionals and showed his potential.
Later in the season, Hagenes won another stage in the 4 Jours de Dunkerque and the Münsterland Giro. The three professional victories in his second year with the Jumbo-Visma Development Team show that he is ready to move up.
"I have learnt and experienced a lot in the Development Team over the past two seasons", Hagenes says. "The training camps, the challenging race programme and the mental lessons have made me the rider I am today."
The Norwegian does not have to think long about what he has learnt the most from. “Without a doubt the racing with and between the riders of the WorldTour team. We worked well together last season. I have learnt a lot from racing with the pros and achieved good results. If someone had predicted this before the start of the season, I would have signed up in a heartbeat."
"Partly because I got a taste of racing at the highest level last year, I expect the step up to be smooth", Hagenes continues. "I felt very much at home among the experienced riders. Of course, not everything went perfectly. I had setbacks like injuries and illness. As a result, I was not able to finish the season as I had planned, but I am still happy with last year."
The up-and-coming neo-pro explains how he first came onto the radar of Jumbo-Visma. "We met at a training camp. At that time, I was still riding without a contract. After tests and talks, I joined the Jumbo-Visma U23 team in 2022. I have worked hard over the last two seasons. And now, I am going to join the WorldTour team. It feels like a dream come true."
"I will always treasure my time with the U23s", the former world junior champion adds. "It was a nice group with a lot of guys of the same age and generation. We learnt a lot from each other and from the coaching staff. We had a lot of fun together. With Johannes Staune-Mittet and Loe van Belle, I feel ready to take the step to the pros."
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