Trentin Wins Paris-Tours
The 111th edition of the classic of the falling leaves was contested in cloudy and rainy weather conditions, with 17 degrees Celsius and a high air humidity in the neighborhood of 85 percent.
The riders crossed the start line of the 2017 Paris-Tours classic, which started in Brou near Paris and challenged its starters to a battle on the 234.5 kilometer route to Tours. Paris-Tours is known to be a late season favorite race for sprinters.
Last year's winner Fernando Gaviria (Team QuickStep Floors) was present at the start, hoping to repeat his victory, while competing sprint aces from other teams were also ready for the final classics battle of the 2017 season. Despite race organizer A.S.O. having integrated two minor hills in the final kilometers in order to annoy sprinters, stars taking the start included Lotto NL-Jumbo's Dylan Groenewegen, Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb) and Rick Zabel (Katusha), while Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data) and Lotto-Soudal's German "Gorilla" Andre Greipel were both hoping to obtain some late-season success following a somewhat disappointing season.
Despite bringing Gaviria to the race, QuickStep Floors sports director Brian Holm was not reluctant to announce his great expectations for Matteo Trentin. "Matteo got to win the fastest edition ever two years ago. He proved his worth by winning four stages in the recent Vuelta a Espana. He is in excellent shape and will definitely be one to defeat today."
18 kilometers from the finish line, defending champion Gaviria crashed on the wet roads and the QuickStep support car offered him a lift back to the action of the day.
Team Roompot's Brian Van Goethem and Lawrence Naesen (WB) continued in their role as front breakaway duo, while Team AG2R - La Mondiale set a very high pace at the front of the peloton to catch the front duo and deter any attacks from potential breakaway hopefuls who were lurking behind, shopping for opportunities to accellerate and attack.
Team QuickStep's Matteo Trentin and Niki Terpstra formed a trio at the front with Team Sunweb's Soren Kragh Andersen and were in the lead with five kilometers to go, having a ten second lead.
A FDJ-led peloton fought hard to close the increasing gap, but it was the trio who would battle for the win.
The sprint was won by Trentin ahead of Kragh Andersen and Terpstra. The QuickStep man has had a very successful 2017 season for his team and delivered an average speed of 43.58 km/h in today's classic. He will ride for Team Orica-Scott in 2018.
Greipel won the sprint for fourth place.
"The light rain and wet roads made for a strung-out bunch, so on the first hill I said to myself it won't hurt to give it a go," race winner Trentin explained to Roadcycling.com.
"A first group formed, but then I went again and Niki (Terpsta) came across. We played perfect tactics and Niki did an incredible job and a provided a superb lead-out in the last kilometer. It's fantastic to end the season in such a manner. I want to thank the QuickStep Floors team for the past seven years. It has been an honor to ride with them and I'm proud to conclude my time with the team with a second victory in Paris-Tours."
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2017 Paris-Tours Results:
1 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 05:22:51
2 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
3 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:01
4 André Greipel (Ger) Team Lotto-Soudal 0:00:07
5 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors
6 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
7 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
8 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty - Groupe Gobert
9 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb
10 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
11 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert
12 Lorenzo Manzin (Fra) Team FDJ
13 Amund Grondahl Jansen (Nor) Team Lotto NL - Jumbo 0:00:10
14 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Team FDJ 0:00:12
15 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:14
16 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:00:22
17 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Team Lotto-Soudal
18 Marc Sarreau (Fra) Team FDJ 0:00:28
19 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
20 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Team Lotto-Soudal
21 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Sunweb
22 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis - Solutions Credits
23 Mark Mcnally (GBr) Wanty - Groupe Gobert
24 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
25 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
26 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:32
27 Rudy Barbier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:45
28 Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors
29 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan
30 Roy Jans (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
31 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij
32 Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij
33 Kevin Le Cunff (Fra) HP BTP - Auber 93
34 Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
35 Damien Touze (Fra) HP BTP - Auber 93
36 Pierre Gouault (Fra) HP BTP - Auber 93
37 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
38 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert
39 Brecht Dhaene (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert
40 Maxime Vantomme (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
41 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
42 Emiel Vermeulen (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole
43 Emils Liepins (Lat) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
44 Remy Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
45 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
46 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
47 Piotr Havik (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin
48 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert
49 Delio Fernandez (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
50 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert
51 David Menut (Fra) HP BTP - Auber 93
52 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
53 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
54 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis - Solutions Credits
55 Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team
56 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data
57 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Werkilul (Eri) Dimension Data
58 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
59 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
60 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
61 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
62 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb
63 Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie
64 Kevin Reza (Fra) Team FDJ
65 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) Team FDJ
66 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
67 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
68 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole
69 Michael Morkov (Den) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:59
70 Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
71 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:07
72 Huub Duijn (Ned) Veranda's Willems Crelan 0:01:32
73 Jarl Salomein (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise 0:01:36
74 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
75 Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
76 Jordan Levasseur (Fra) Armee de Terre 0:01:38
77 Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Armee de Terre 0:02:06
78 Jérémy Leveau (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole
79 Romain Le Roux (Fra) Armee de Terre
80 Alan Riou (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro
81 Angel Madrazo (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
82 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis - Solutions Credits 0:02:09
83 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport 0:02:20
84 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Aqua Blue Sport
85 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:02:22
86 Arjen Livyns (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan
87 Andre Looij (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij
88 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
89 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan
90 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
91 Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data
92 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert
93 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Team Lotto-Soudal
94 Bram Welten (Ned) BMC Racing Team
95 Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij
96 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro
97 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
98 Romain Guillemois (Fra) Direct Energie 0:02:41
99 Romain Cardis (Fra) Direct Energie
100 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie
101 Taco Van Der Hoorn (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij
102 Brice Feillu (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro
103 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:04:13
104 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij 0:04:25
105 Jeroen Meijers (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij
106 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data
107 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team Lotto-Soudal
108 Léo Vincent (Fra) Team FDJ
109 Max Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb
110 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
111 Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
112 Lander Seynaeve (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole
113 Dimitri Peyskens (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
114 Joeri Calleeuw (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole
115 Calvin Watson (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport
116 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Team FDJ
117 Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) Team FDJ
118 Dylan Kowalski (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole
119 Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole
120 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis - Solutions Credits
121 Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Cofidis - Solutions Credits
122 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
123 Kevyn Ista (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
124 Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
125 Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
126 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro
127 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
128 Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
129 Adam Blythe (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
130 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Team Lotto-Soudal
131 Florian Vachon (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro
132 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
133 Nicolas Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data
134 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team Lotto-Soudal
135 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
136 Robert Wagner (Ger) Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
137 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis - Solutions Credits
138 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb
139 Sander Cordeel (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan
140 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Veranda's Willems Crelan
141 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan
142 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij
143 Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Sunweb
144 Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie 0:05:50
145 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
146 Romain Feillu (Fra) HP BTP - Auber 93
147 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data
148 Yannick Martinez (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
149 Thibault Ferasse (Fra) Armee de Terre
150 Bryan Alaphilippe (Fra) Armee de Terre
151 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Armee de Terre
152 Thomas Rostollan (Fra) Armee de Terre
153 Nicolas Vereecken (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole
154 Dorian Godon (Fra) Cofidis - Solutions Credits
155 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
156 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Team Lotto-Soudal
157 Daniel Pearson (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
158 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport 0:07:00
159 Alo Jakin (Est) HP BTP - Auber 93
160 Michael Goolaerts (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan
161 Nicolas Baldo (Fra) HP BTP - Auber 93
162 Laurent Pichon (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro 0:12:54
163 Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro
164 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro
165 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
166 Nicolas Prodhomme (Fra) HP BTP - Auber 93
167 Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Armee de Terre 0:19:34
DNF Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) BMC Racing Team
DNF Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis - Solutions Credits
DNF Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Clement Orceau (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Alex Kirsch (Lux) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect