Here we go then, let's head into the 2023 Lincoln GP!
Kawasaki and Bakke Christophersen are the first attackers to gain some separation. Many others try, including Urcelay, which is an interesting choice given Lampaert’s high ambitions, but Strava and Saeco shut those moves down for now.
Climbing the Michaelgate for the first time, it’s still only a duo out in front, some 20 seconds ahead of the pack. Caja Rural and Hilcona are among the teams that most eagerly try to join them, now attempting it with Garcia and Huppertz.
A group of four, led by Bertilsson and also including Cole, Aebi and Finkst eventually joins the leaders, but the peloton is still relentlessly chasing.
On the second cobbled climb of the day, four more riders - Barcelo, Huppertz, Willwohl and Murillo – make their way to the front and these 10 actually get some separation. It looks like we finally found our breakaway. Finkst is the strongest cobblestone rider here, but a few guys might match him on a good day. Let’s see how things develop.
Two things happen next: First, Bakke Christophersen has to pay the price for keeping the initial attack going for so long, he drops from the breakaway. In contrast, there’s another attack from the peloton trying to catch up, it consists of Laurance, De Laat and Garcia. They trail the leaders by over a minute, though.
Overtaking Bakke Christophersen, the trio slowly comes closer to the breakaway, but they’re still 50 seconds away. Kawasaki and Barcelo are struggling, but they hang on for now. The gap to the peloton has opened to three and a half minutes.
50 kilometers into the race, Laurance, De Laat and Garcia make their way to the front to form a 12 rider group. The French in particular is a capable rider for this profile, but we’ll have to see how much energy that chase has cost him and his two companions.
We can skip ahead quite a bit because not much of consequence happened for a while. The breakaway is still in one piece at this point, with even the worst cobblestone riders hanging on, and that slow pace is evident looking at how their advantage over the peloton never grew to more than 4 minutes and drops to under 3 now. Schlechter and Pons choose this moment to launch a long range attack.
You can also see a group distanced from the main peloton by around a minute. Among those 19 riders are a few quite interesting names, such as Campbell, Rathe and most notably Kosic. All of them were legitimate Top 20 contenders and unless they react quickly and forcefully, they might not even finish in the Top 50.
A few kilometers later, Schlechter and Pons are joined by Gayral and Breen. To see the Norwegian attack so early is a shock, but Tafjord have a great second option in Kulppi. This quartet is just 20 seconds ahead of the pack for now anyway, though.
With 60 kilometers to go, the Breen group is joined by Jans, Touze and Barcelo, while sweeping up Garcia, the first of the 12 leaders to fall behind. These 8 have 50 seconds on the peloton now, so this could maybe turn into something!
Meanwhile, the peloton stretches and contracts over every hill. For a bit, Domene and almost the whole Podium Ambition team minus Matthews were dropped into the Kosic group, but Rathe brings everything back together … for now.
Crabbe-CC Chevigny, Saeco and Strava are the driving forces in the peloton, while Stela-Vita keeps Lampaert safe in the second row. The Breen group is 50 seconds ahead, the original breakaway another 1’25 with 50 kilometers to go.
Man, I don’t know about these tactics from Tafjord today. Kulppi attacks now but is, unsurprisingly, immediately chased hard by Crabbe. If this doesn’t work, he’s not only expending unnecessary energy, but also bringing the peloton closer to Breen and co. Weird move for sure. You can see the peloton is split again, we’ll wait a bit and see if these gaps stick to check who’s where.
Into the fourth-to-last major climb, Kulppi actually has a gap on the peloton, trying to pass Garcia and join his teammate in Group 2.
While Kulppi is struggling to make headways, the peloton has once again split into two groups. Domene and Tediashvili are the biggest names who’ve fallen behind, the latter even has Kosic working for him now. Not the greatest situation for Jura.
An exhausted Kulppi is caught again by the peloton, what a poor decision by him. Kaislavuo is still in this group to support him or try and repeat his stellar result from last year, in case Breen doesn’t come through. That group only has 35 seconds on the main peloton now, the original breakaway is at around 2 minutes from the pack. Meanwhile, Tediashvili has taken over at the front of the second peloton.
With Kulppi caught and the peloton coming closer, Breen feels the pressure and attacks from Group 2, and he picks a good time to do so, as the rest of the group is swallowed by the peloton moments later. Breen quickly catches up to Willwohl, who couldn’t keep up with his former companions anymore.
Meanwhile, Havik is dropped from the peloton and finds himself in a group of nine including Tediashvili and Major, around a minute behind the peloton. Domene and Kosic are further behind and out of contention. Jura GIANTS are now the only team without a rider in either the breakaway or the peloton.
We’re heading towards the finale now, with only these two cobblestone sections remaining before the ramp to the finish. Unfortunately, Kulppi won’t play a role there, he falls behind alongside former breakaway rider Willwohl.
The peloton is about to catch the breakaway, but Finkst doesn’t want to give up just yet and attacks. Laurance and Breen try to counter.
Finkst crosses the summit first, but now as part of the peloton. 35 riders remain, which include the 10 breakaway riders.
Still on the plateau before the last descent, we see an interesting attack from Livyns. Taubel still sits safely in the peloton, but this is a nice maneuvre. Breen gives his last bits of energy to follow the move, and we also see a reaction in the peloton from Chatarunga and Trentin!
But Strava show no mercy. First Tarvis and then Owen shut all those attacks down, as Gaday comes closer to the front with 6.5 kilometers to go.
But Livyns soon tries again, this time with Luchshenko and Barbero in tow. Tarvis is immediately back at the front of the peloton. 32 riders are still here with 12 teams present, all of whom can now taste some points!
Livyns is overtaken by Luchshenko and Barbero, then Trentin and Chatarunga attack, and apparently domestique time is now over at Strava because Gaday himself follows! Just four kilometers to go, could this already be the decisive move?
Breen has one more effort in him, perhaps knowing that Kaislavuo is poorly placed towards the end of the group. Kuypers looks well in second position, then it’s a bunch of domestiques ahead of Lampaert and the PA Armada.
Breen only manages to bring the attackers closer but doesn’t get away himself. Another acceleration by Gaday re-opens the gap, but Luchshenko and Barbero are still almost 20 seconds ahead.
But what a big acceleration that was by Gaday! He quickly jumps to the two leaders, and while Trentin and Chatarunga seem to be able to follow comfortably, Livyns is struggling.
In the peloton, Tarvis and Owen obstruct the chase while potentially eyeing a nice result for themselves. Breen once again shows himself, and Lampaert now comes closer to the front, as does Taubel on the left side of the screen.
Into the final climb, Gaday has taken the lead, and easily so. Chatarunga and Trentin look somewhat fresh, can they still fight for more than second place? The other three meanwhile have to fight to stay ahead of the charging peloton.
In that peloton, Breen is now joined in the first row by Richardson and Campbell. With Matthews not far behind, Podium Ambition could be looking at a nice result, but the climb is still long. Lampaert and Taubel are not looking great at all, while Kaislavuo, Kuypers and Finkst make their way towards a potential Top 15 finish.
Gaday is way ahead, but somewhat unexpectedly, Chatarunga and Trentin are in trouble. The PA trio, as well as the likes of Villela and Finkst, are currently much faster and closing in quickly. But can those guys keep up the pace long enough?
It doesn’t look like it. Campbell and Matthews have moved all the way up to 5th and 6th, but as Gaday starts to celebrate, most riders behind him are stalling.
But there is still some movement. Campbell and Matthews continue to move ahead, now attacking the podium, although Trentin still looks set for second place. Kaislavuo is Tafjords last best hope for a good result, he’s at least in the Top 10 now and moving up.
Let’s not take this man for granted, and give him the recognition he deserves as he crosses the finish line for another win. Take a bow, Lucas Manuel Gaday!
Behind him, we suddenly have a new challenger for the podium! Kaislavuo is just flying past almost everyone! Can Trentin hold on?
It’s a photo finish! But by the skin of his teeth, Trentin finishes second. Kaislavuo repeats his third place from last year – this really is his race, apparently! –, saving what would’ve otherwise been a horrendous day for Tafjord.
Chatarunga finishes 4th, another very solid result. Then comes Matthews, the first of three Podium Ambition riders in the Top 8, followed by Campbell, Luchshenko and Richardson. The Kazakh gets a really great result for someone who ordinarily doesn’t like cobbles whatsoever, but his attack heading into the finale was just a very smart move.
The same can be said for Barbero, who gets beat to the line at the very last second by Cole (who makes it 4 PA riders in the Top 10) and Livyns. Ahead of all three in 9th place is Finkst, who was just tremendous today and scores some very unexpected points for Team Würth MODYF.
Villella, Owen and Tarvis complete the Top 15 behind them.
Aebi then beats Breen for 16th, followed by Lampaert and Taubel, all three will be disappointed today. Hilcona on the other hand should be pretty happy, getting another rider into the Top 20 in Kuypers.
Behind Smirnovs and Devriendt, Murillo is rewarded for his exploits by sneaking into one of the final points scoring positions. Those are closed out by McCutcheon and Schlechter, meaning despite the terrific efforts from Kawasaki and De Laat, Babymetal leaves empty-handed today. Still a really good showing in a race where nothing was expected of them. JURA Giants, on the other hand, certainly expected more than Tediashvili’s 43rd place.
But while Jura still have some fun (and very promising) PCT cobbles race days to look forward to, and while those are of course open for CT teams, too, C2 cobbles are done for the year. And what a nice run of races it's been! Up next for the C2 circuit now: The USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
Lincoln GP 
