Here’s a list of favorites for today’s race. We see Konychev and Dainese splitting favorite status for Assa Abloy and Halvorsen the best of the rest on the startlest. Groenewegen surprisingly toward the bottom of this list.
We catch up with the breakaway once it has fully formed. Lots of smaller attacks came together to form this group as the peloton allows away a large group for the 233km slugfest. Together, these 12 make it away. Uhiriwe, Serrano, Rodriguez, Piccolo, Ruiz, Garcia Pierna, Battsengel, Keup, Martino, Bonello, Delbove, and Bulux. With 200km to go, the breakaway has 5:00 on the pack.
The pace to start in the peloton is slower than a snail with the following teams showing their face at the front: Fastned, Kraftwerk Man Machine, Indosat Ooredoo, Los Pollos Hermanos, Assa Abloy, Lampre-Pinarello, Popo4ever p/b Morshynska, and DK Zalgiris. WIth 150km to go the gap is back to 5:00 after having ascended to 6:20 at its largest.
The breakaway continues along on its unlikely attempt with 100km to go. The gap is 3:10 and everyone is still contributing in both groups.
The gap has dropped to 2:00 with 70km to go and the breakaway should have no shot. THe peloton is cruising at a high pace and seem very interested in bringing the breakaway back quickly. Veyhe is identified as the rider leading the pack the most on this endeavor.
50km to go and the breakaway still has 1:36 on the peloton. Maybe the breakaway has saved more energy than we thought. Again, all 12 of the members are going strong.
In the peloton, the tiniest of undulation creates a minor gap which is closed immediately, however, riders should pay attention to who is in the front.
35km to go and there’s a few breakaway attempts from the leading 12 but they do not create any gaps. Bonello tries, alongside Keup and Rodriguez who both think they can make it away. They cannot and the rest of the group keeps trucking. 1:00 behind is the 170 rider peloton.
25km to go and the peloton can easily see the breakaway just 53 seconds ahead. Still, the best sprinters are now seen near the front including Dainese, Manninen, and Groenewegen amongst others.
A puncture from Varga sends him back to midpack so a rouleur attack may no longer be in the cards.
The break has only 45 seconds but the gap still falls slowly. All 12 are still together up front. A tiny gap in the peloton leads Houle, Scott, and Mudgway on the wrong side along with Waersted but they can come back together easily and do.
15km to go and there’s now two solo riders between the peloton and the breakaway! Chatarunga has about 25 seconds over the peloton but still 1:00 to the 12 leaders. Dzamastagic is 18 seconds back of Chatarunga but holds 9 over the peloton. Unclear how they plan to find the victory with this strategy, but who knows the peloton’s plan.
11km from the line and the two tiny hills before the finish are here. Chatarunga and Dzamastagic are now in the front group, but they only have 36 seconds over a fast approaching peloton. The catch might be eminent.
10km to go and everyone is back together!
The peloton takes it relaxed from 10km to 5km while they unsuccessfully try to reor Ganize. Under the banner, Dzamastagic tries to escape again but is followed by Van der Hoorn, Arashiro and Varga which stops them from escaping from the group.
2.5km to go and the leadout riders have pretty much found their ways to the front. Gani leads out Abdul Halil while Gibbons leads out Dainese at the front. Halvorsen looks ready to strike as does Groenewegen. Aniolkowski and Howard are also easy to spot.
1.2km to go and Abdul Halil finds his way to his final sprint. Gibbons has also accelerated with Dainese still close behind. Riabushenko is in best position of those not previously mentioned while Marin is also here for a good result.
Abdul Halil and Halvorsen have a clear gap with 700m to go. Dainese is 3rd but well back and Bertilsson is fighting for that podium place. Bonifazio appears on Dainese’s wheel ready for a surprise result as well.
Halvorsen is now alone after Abdul Halil’s form falls apart with 400m to go. Dainese still 2nd but Bonifazio and Bertilsson are flying. Rowe also appears ready for a good result now while Howard could also sneak by. Can Halvorsen hold it to the line?
NO! ITS BONIFAZIO! Bonifazio takes Paris Tours with a fantastic sprint. Marin with a very strong result to come 3rd while Zabel flies by for 2nd at the last moment. Halvorsen 4th. Aniolkowski 5th. The rest of the top 10 is Bertilsson, Degenkolb, Manninen, Liepins, and Dainese. Dainese really struggled in the final meters, although way less than Abdul Halil.
A very tough race for our sprinters who can’t all find success but a fantastic race for Bonifazio!
Bonifazio with all the joy in the world for his first victory of the season (we believe).
Paris Tours
