Philipsen and Pedersen... and even more !

September 30 ^th 2024 - 17:15

Paris-Tours is shaping up to be a final for the spring classics specialists, who benefit from a final session at the onset of autumn. The opportunity to end the year on a high note attracts several sprinters, including the two most high-profile riders, Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen, who will have to contend with Arnaud Démare and Arnaud De Lie.    

The 118th edition of Paris-Tours, which starts in Chartres on Sunday morning October 6th, will feature vineyard trails for the seventh time (10 kilometres from a total distance of 213.8 km). Given the possibilities that this terrain offers, the list of favourites has expanded to include contenders such as Magnus Cort, Stefan Küng, and Anthony Turgis.  

The U23 peloton will kick off proceedings ahead of the professional race, starting in Bonneval for a 178.9-kilometer route. All eyes will be on the newly crowned world champion in the category, Niklas Behrens. The young German will attempt to put an end to a series of three consecutive Norwegian victories in the event.

There are plenty of good reasons to throw everything you've got into the battle for a victory in Tours that will make your record look good when it comes time to compile your annual results. The results are never good enough for sprinters and classic chasers, who are more often than not subjected to emotional ups and downs as the weeks go by in the peloton. Jasper Philipsen, for example, would be hard-pressed to take a back seat after adding to his CV this year with a win in Milan-Sanremo, a runner-up finish behind his leader Mathieu Van der Poel in Roubaix, and three more stage wins in the Tour de France. But the Belgian rider, who his compatriot Tim Merlier beat at the European championships (4th), is banking on Paris-Tours to end his year in triumph. However, he must share Alpecin-Deceuninck's ambitions with former winner Soren Kragh Andersen (2018). The Dane had won by leading the way for all those who counted on distant attacks on the vineyard paths. This scenario paid off several times, but a sprint finish could still be possible in a group of more or less survivors. In that case, Philipsen should come up against solid opposition, with Arnaud Démare, for example, who found the winning formula in 2021 and 2022, but also bouquet collectors such as Mads Pedersen, Arnaud De Lie or Pascal Ackermann.

The option of an unbridled race, as has been the case for the most part since the regular visits to the vineyards, opens up prospects for attacking profiles capable of withstanding the excess dust and gravel. There are even more of them in this category, each with strengths. Candidates such as Magnus Cort, Stefan Küng, John Degenkolb, Axel Zingle and the winner of the ''chemins blancs‘’ stage of the Tour de France, Anthony Turgis, will need to keep a close eye on every move they make as soon as the first difficulties of the course arise.  

The main participants (as of 30/09):   

Belgium
Lotto Dstny: De Lie, Van Moer, Segaert (Bel)
Alpecin-Deceuninck: Philipsen (Bel), Kragh Andersen (Dan)
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty: Mihkels (Est), Page, Petit (Fra), Rex (Bel)
Bingoal-WB: Vliegen, Van Rooy (Bel)   

France
Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale Team: Gautherat (Fra), Naesen (Bel), Boasson-Hagen (Nor)
Groupama-FDJ: Küng (Sui), Penhoet (Fra), Lewis (Gbr)
Cofidis: Zingle (Fra), G.Izagirre (Esp)
Team TotalEnergies: Turgis, Dujardin, Simon (Fra)
Arkéa-B&B Hotels: Démare, Sénéchal (Fra), Mozzato (Ita)
St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93: Delettre, Lecrocq (Fra)
Van Rysel-Roubaix: Leroux, Leveau (Fra) CIC U Nantes Atlantique: Basset, Braz, Guégan (Fra)
Team Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur: Le Ny, Narbonne (Fra)  

Israel
Israel-Premier Tech: Ackermann (All), Hofstetter (Fra), Sheehan (Usa)  

Kazakhstan
Astana Qazaqstan Team: Bol (Hol), Morkov (Dan)  

Norway
Uno-X Mobility: Cort, Abrahamsen, T.Johannessen, (Nor)  

Spain
Equipo Kern Pharma: Berrade, Miquel (Esp)  

Switzerland
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team: Steimle (All)
Tudor Pro Cycling Team: Trentin (Ita)  

The Netherlands
Team Visma | Lease a Bike: Laporte (Fra), Affini (Ita)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL: Degenkolb (All), Eekhoff (Hol)  

United Arab Emirates
UAE Team Emirates: Bjerg (Dan), Molano (Col), Morgado (Por)  

United States
Lidl-Trek: Pedersen (Dan), Theuns (Bel), Vacek (Rtc)