Welcome to Chartres for the start of the 2024 Paris Tours. 234k from now we will know the name of the winner.
The organizers know how well Aniolkowski has been riding this season.
The first 11 attackers get away. Three more tried to join them but Popo4ever thought 11 was enough. The escapees have 3’11 with 214k to go. In the break are: Todome Huby Kulindwa Verstrynge Camrda Belohvosciks Donaldson Kusuma Van Vliet Ramirez Franco
Not the most daunting break, every one of these riders except Kusuma is 22 or 23 years old. Kusuma not particularly experienced either, he is only 26. Then again neo pros have already pulled off some surprising wins this year.
85k to go now, not much happened since the last update. The lead went out to 6’18 and is now back to 2’32. Lots of teams contributing to the chase but mostly it has been Kraftwerk, ELCO, Zalgiris and ISA-Hexacta. And a little bit of Benetton, in the sun. Tesfom leading right now.
Nothing much happens until, with 42k to go and the peloton at 1’16, Belohvosciks attacks his former friends in the break.
Belohvosciks is brought back and a few other attacks in the break go nowhere. With 24k to go the break still has 46 seconds. Luchshenko leading the peloton. The peloton has split a number of times but only briefly each time. Now it is more serious with 40 riders gaining a 47 second edge. JEWA working to close it. Perhaps for Losch.
17k left and it is over for the break. Mraouni and Cherkasov lead the catch. Peloton back together with about 30 riders dropped, nobody important, a lot of guys who were working earlier in the race.
11k, one of the little rises in the course yields the first attack. It is Yzeiraj, Quispe and Boutopoulos, Samudio trying to join them.
Mraouni shuts down that attack and a couple more including some of the same riders plus Visser, Van der Haar and Varga. The Moroccan showing no mercy to the letter V.
In the next attack Dzamastagic and Suter join Varga, Visser and Boutopoulus. All the big roulers have had a go now. The latest attack doesn’t get traction. The sprinters clustered on the front of the peloton. Adomaitis on the front and on the radio. Vesely, Zabel and Ewan behind him. 6.9k left.
Kasperkiewicz has a go and is shut down by Cherkasov before Adomaitis’ radio call is answered as Tediashvili comes to the front to control things.
A final attack from Vangheluwe and Dzamastagic is shut down as Baska and Russo appear to start the leadout. With 2.6k to go they are on the front, next to them Adomaitis is leading out Vesely. In the row behind the leadouts it is Kulikovskiy, Willwohl, Nur Hasan, Hodeg, and Zabel.
1.6k to go, Ewan’s leadout has collapsed and he had dropped back a little. Adomaitis alone on the front. Behind him is Vesely and Zabel then Aniolkowski, Coutinho, Farantakis and Riabushenko. The riders on the right benefitting from the collapse of the ISA-Hexacta treain blocking traffic on the left.
Vesely in the wind under the 1k banner. The riders mentioned in the last image behind him then Ewan and Enger.
700 meters, Vesely is toast, Zabel to the front, is he strong enough to avoid the same fate?
No. 400 meters and Riabushenko on the right and Ewan on the left have the edge. Enger coming fast. On the far left Bonifazio is coming fast with Kulikovskiy inside him. The Italian looking to win back-to-back editions.
200 meters, Bonifazio has flown past the rest. Losch also making a late charge.
Bonifazio celebrates. He will be entertaining the PT peloton with his unique style next year. Hodeg and Nur Hasan have recovered from their early troubles and look to be contesting 2nd.
Hodeg edges Nur Hasan for 2nd, Losch hangs on for 4th.
Ewan just gets 5th ahead of Riabushenko, Enger, Kulikovskiy and Aniolkowski. Coutinho is 10th.
Paris Tours 
