THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Guesdon snaps French losing streak at Paris-Tours
The long French victory drought at Paris-Tours was just a hazy memory on Sunday as Frederic Guesdon won the 100th edition of the classic race. The veteran rider from Brittany beat Norway's Kurt-Asle Arvesen at the line, the two of them representing the final, desperate remnant of a 28-man pack that broke away more than four hours earlier.
Crossing the finish on the famous Avenue du Grammont in Tours, just eight seconds behind the first two riders, were 35 pursuers led by Stuart O'Grady. They had come some 254km, under sunny skies, from the outskirts of Paris.
Guesdon, who turns 35 next week, had not won a major race since 1997, when he won Paris-Roubaix. In all that time he has worn the Française des Jeux uniform (both Arvesen and O'Grady ride for CSC).
Guesdon was the third Frenchman to win the classic race in eight years, but just the fourth in the last half-century. Albert Bouvet, who won in 1956 and watched a French drought last until 1998, pointed out that Guesdon was, like him, from Brittany, unlike Jacky Durand (1998) and Richard Virenque (2001).
"They won because they attacked, and I followed their example," said Guesdon, who broke away on a small climb with 8km to go. "I felt this morning that I could do something with that climb. I even told one of the younger riders on the team. I was very motivated this morning."
When Guesdon sprang forward, he was part of a five-man group that also included Kevin Van Impe (QuickStep), Christian Moreni (Cofidis), Enrico Gasparotto (Liquigas) and Arvesen. For much of the last 40km of the race, they had led by about 20 seconds.
Arnesen blinked when Guesdon dumped his daylong mates, but then decided to join the Frenchman for the long, tree-lined boulevard into Tours. Having just looked over his shoulder and seen a massive group moving up on him, Arvesen needed the inspiration.
"When I saw the peloton behind us before the last three climbs, I didn’t believe it," said Arvesen. "But you never give up when you’ve been away for so long."
Arvesen said that he blew it tactically as he and Guesdon took turns leading at the finish. "I did everything wrong there, so he deserved to win," he said. "To be second after a long break like that is not so fun, but he was strong."
O’Grady has come on strong at the end of the season, finishing first in the points at the Tour of Denmark in August, second overall in the Zurich Championship earlier this month, and now third here in the sprinter’s classic.
"Nice to have some form back," he said. "2006 wasn’t my year, but at least I can see the form’s good and I’m already looking forward to carrying this strength on. I’ll carry this strength on and we’ll see some carnage."
It was the 100th running of the Paris-Tours, the sprinter's classic that winds southwest through France from the outskirts of the capital to this ancient city on the Loire. The sun was out and the air was crisp for this, the second-to-last scored race on the UCI Pro Tour calendar.
An early break of 28 riders jumped out to a big lead, and another 40 went after them in the second hour of the race, catching all but Guesdon and Arvesen.
The second group included contenders like O’Grady, Filippo Pozzato (Quick Step), Daniele Bennati (Lampre), Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) and his teammate Jaan Kirsipuu, riding in his last professional race.
"There was wind, so we had to be concentrated the whole time," said Hushovd, who had high praise for Kirsipuu.
Of the original 196 riders, only 72 stayed in the race beyond the feed zone at the 149km mark. A huge pack dropped out at that point, having failed to join a large chase group that set out in pursuit of an early breakaway group.
Among those dropping out at the feed zone were last year's winner Erik Zabel of Milram (who also won here in 1994 and 2003) and Belgian star Tom Boonen of Quick Step-Innergetic.
Boonen said he’s looking forward to going somewhere warm for a vacation. "Last year I took seven or eight weeks off, so I’ll do the same this year," he said at the start. "The season’s always getting longer and harder, so it’s necessary to take longer breaks."
Race notes
In a race that rewards great sprinters, one of the greatest - Robbie McEwen of Davitamon-Lotto - was absent, choosing instead to race in the Sun Tour in his native Australia.
Only the Tour of Lombardy, which begins October 14, remains on the UCI Pro Tour calendar. Alejandro Valverde of Spain has already clinched the season title.
It was the final professional race for Jaan Kirsipuu. The 37-year-old Estonian rider, who said before the race that he felt no different than on any other race day, finished in the bunch. The result sheet says he finished 26th, eight seconds behind Guesdon.
Students of European history know that the city of Tours is most famous for a battle that occurred in 732, in which Charles Martel defeated an invading Muslim army, marking the northernmost incursion of Islamic empires into Europe.
Top 10
1. Frederic Guesdon (F) Francaise des Jeux, 5:31:09
2. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor), CSC. same time
3. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), CSC, at 0:08
4. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Crédit Agricole, s.t.
5. Alexandre Usov (Blr), Ag2r, s.t.
6. Baden Cooke (Aus), Unibet.com, s.t.
7. Frank Hoj (Den), Gerolsteiner, s.t.
8. Danilo Napolitano (I), Lampre, s.t.
9. Tom Steels (B), Davitamon-Lotto, s.t.
10. Filippo Pozzato (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, s.t.
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