Bonjour everybody and thanks for joining the coverage of the 2018 edition of Paris Tours. A classic that famously ends up either in a bunch sprint or a late attack. Though cycling can be unpredictable at times. So we'll only know what will happen in four to five hours.
Today's top favourites according to an algorythm are Guarnieri, Van Heerden and Colbrelli, while Kluge and Ratto are named as two riders who may potentially have a trick up their sleeves near the end of the race.
And as we start the race, we immediately get an attack of six riders who aren't scared of being in a very, very long break:
Matte Reddish Camargo Ahmad Zamri Bonnamour
and Bain.
Salas however doesn't like this break and single-handedly clears the gap.
It's Ahmad Zamri Bonnamour
and Reddish.
Three of them try again however and seem to be more successful this time. Two minutes for them in the blink of an eye!
Yep, this will be the break of the day. 3'34 with '204 kilometers to go. GCN and ENI-MOL are trying to control the pack. Even Pinot is relaying!
50 kilometers later we can see Valio is joining the chase. 5 minutes for the leaders now. Should be controllable, but you never know.
With 40 kilometers and 3 minutes to the leaders, Quintero decides to attack from the bunch! As the famous announcer says, there's not much sense to it, but at least he gets a mention!
He gets reeled in two kilometers later.
Another attack follows. This time, it's Zhupa and Losch trying the unthinkable.
Same fate for this two brave guys, as Mollema reels them back in.
This does mean the breakaway only has 30 seconds left, so once they get back into the peloton, the real finale may start!
And indeed. Although it took the peloton a bit longer than expected (there are 18 kilometers left), the peloton re-uniting immediately sparked an attack by a dangerous baroudeur. It's Quicibal who tries to make a gap. Can he do it?
The answer is no. He had a maximum of 15 seconds, but this time Markus got him back into the pack. Rothaus has been very active near the front so far, that's for sure.
We've now reached the top of the final climb, in which Pinot kept such a high pace that not a single rider tried an attack. It's starting to look more and more like we're going to get a traditional bunch sprint!
Okay, maybe not? As sprint trains are being formed, Kangangi is giving it one more go for Equinor!
It doesn't look like he can gain much time, however. The same counts for Yzeiraj, who doesn't even reach the front of the pack.
Time to take a look at the sprinters' positioning then:
Kangangi
McLay
Haddi
Keukeleire
Yzeiraj
Matthews
Guarnieri
Markus
Wippert
Krasnov
King
Coutinho
Vanoverschelde
Van Heerden
While Nizzolo, Colbrelli and Manninen seem to be fighting for Van Heerden's wheel.
3 kilometers to go. Kangangi is still slightly ahead while Yzeiraj also made his way through the trains. GCN's train seems to be the best one today. They have put Keukeleire into winning position, though everything is far from over!
2 kilometers. Haddi is now the one leading out Keukeleire. Matthews and Guarnieri have his wheel and are looking to benefit from his train!
Under the red kite, we can see that Haddi is still up front but Krasnov, as well as Coutinho and Van Heerden are trying to pass him on the left of this picture! Keukeleire, as well as Matthews and Guarnieri, now have to make a move fast or they will get stuck!
500 metres and beleive it or not, but Krasnov currently has the best papers to win it! Coutinho is behind him and might benefit if he cracks.
Behind them ,it's full party mode: Guarnieri and Matthews decided they couldn't wait for Keukeleire and passed him, though Keukeleir is now finally startng to sprint too. Vanoverschelde and Nizzolo on the left are also going fast. Manninen is behind them. I certainly can't predict a winner yet.
200 metres left. Krasnov and Coutinho are still ahead, but riders behind them are going much faster. Van Heerden and Guarnieri have the best papers to pass them in the nick of time. Though Vanoverschelde, Nizzolo and Manninen on the right can also still step up the podium! It's so close!
Keukeleire and Matthews ran out of steam, though. This won't please their managers.
But it's Leonid Krasnov who wins the 2018 edition of Paris-Tours!!! Though holy... He did make it scary by cheering before the finish line, as Guarnieri almost Zabel'd him. Still, he should be okay with second here.
What a stunt, a leadout rider staying ahead until the very end... This race will be talked about for a long time!
Vanoverschelde completes ENI-MOL's party and finishes third! Hopefully he'll be okay with a teammate winning, too.
This will certainly cause ENI-MOL to go ape! Ha, get it? Animal? Ape? Ugh.
Van Heerden just didn't have the energy left and finishes fourth. Which would've been fine for him already, but Coutinho's seventh place should certainly make his team even more pleased.
Nizzolo and Manninen did around as expected and finished fifth and sixth. Keukeleire couldn't finish the great job his team did for him and has to settle with 8th.
Quite far behind (I almost thought of a gap!), Matthews and King complete the top 10. Good for King, meh for Matthews.
And let's finish off with Leonid Krasnov celebrating his victory. A true sign that being a good leadout can be worth a lot. Even more than a good sprinter in this case!
So yes, we did end up with a bunch sprint, but it was a very interesting one. We hope you have joined the coverage of the 2018 edition of Paris-Tours, and would love to see you back for more races on the calendar. Cya!
Paris-Tours
