Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, October 14, 2019
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars. - Walt Whitman
Upcoming racing:
- Oct 17 - 22: Tour of Guangxi
- Oct 20: Japan Cup
- Oct 20: Chrono des Nations
Latest completed racing:
- Oct 13: Paris-Tours
- Oct 12: Il Lombardia
- Oct 10: Paris-Bourges
- Oct 10: Gran Piemonte
- Oct 9: Milano-Torino
- Oct 8: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- Oct 8: Tre Valli Varesine
- Oct 6: GP Bruno Beghelli
- Oct 5: Tour de l'Eurométropole
- Oct 5: Giro d'Emilia
- Oct 3: Sparkassen Münsterland Giro
- Sept 22 - 29: UCI World Road Championships, Yorkshire
- Sept 22: Trofeo Matteotti
Paris-Tours race reports
We posted the organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from winner Jelle Wallays' Lotto-Soudal team:
For the second time in his career, Jelle Wallays won the pro version of Paris-Tours. Contrary to his first victory five years ago, he now finished off an impressive solo effort of around fifty kilometres and still had plenty of time to celebrate on the Avenue de Grammont!
Jelle Wallays gets his second Paris-Tours.
Early in the race, the peloton split in several parts and a sizeable front group formed, which included Lotto Soudal riders Nikolas Maes, Lawrence Naesen and Jelle Wallays. On the first of nine gravel sections, at around 50 kilometres from the line, Wallays accelerated and tried to bridge to the sole leader and defending champion Søren Kragh Andersen, but the unfortunate Dane punctured and that way, Wallays found himself alone at the front. Despite Groupama-FDJ leading the chase, the Lotto Soudal rider extended his advantage to a minute and a half.
At thirty kilometres from the finish, the chasing group fell apart, but Nikolas Maes acted as the perfect teammate and shut down various counterattacks. A mightily strong Wallays did not look back and powered to Tours, where he had plenty of time to enjoy his second victory at the French autumn Classic! Niki Terpstra and Oliver Naesen joined Wallays on the podium, Nikolas Maes finished eleventh.
Jelle Wallays: “There is no better way to finish the season. I felt really good the past couple of weeks and I was especially focusing on Paris-Tours, because this race suits me perfectly. Winning in such a way is the icing on the cake. The tough first part of the race certainly played into my hands, and I could take advantage of that later in the race. I could ride along in the first echelon quite comfortably and then, I already felt that my legs were good.”
“To be honest, I attacked in order to make a first selection but suddenly, I was riding alone at the front. I thought that a small group would still join me but that didn’t happen. When Andersen punctured, I was completely on my own. On such a course, it is hard to control the race and I realized it would be a battle, man to man.”
“On several parts, there was a lot of headwind, but I did a very thorough recon of the course and I counted on my own strength, which eventually proved to be successful. At around four kilometres from the line, when I still had 40 seconds advantage, I was sure of winning. Today was my third victory at Paris-Tours, two at the pros and one as an U23 rider. To be called ‘Mister Paris-Tours’ makes me really proud. I even heard words like ‘King Paris-Tours’, that is of course a really special feeling.”
Third-place Oliver Naesen's Ag2r La Mondiale team sent me this:
Oliver Naesen: "It's always good to finish the season on the podium. I gave a lot in the pursuit and I was "burnt" by the finish. In the end, I felt that Niki Terpstra, even if he had to fight back after suffering punctures, was fresher than me, and I could not contest the sprint. I am satisfied with my season. I feel that I have made further progress. I would just like to win more races. One per year is not enough, although I know that many riders would like this level of success in such full seasons. My best memory is my second place in Milan-San Remo. Being on the podium of a race so "select" was a beautiful moment.”
The Paris-Tours podium, from left: Niki Terpstra (2nd), Jelle Wallays & Oliver Naesen (3rd)
THE NEWS: Back to work this November at Vaujany in Oisans
With this last race of the season, the riders of the AG2R La Mondiale team will take a well-deserved rest. The 2020 season will resume officially from the 12th to 15th of November with the traditional team building training camp at Vaujany in the Oisans region.
THE NUMBER: 20
Oliver Naesen's third place is his 20th top 10 of the season. He has stepped seven times onto the podium and won the seventh stage of the Binck Banck Tour.
Moniek Tenniglo returns after strong debut season with Mitchelton-Scott
Tenniglo's Mitchelton-Scott team sent me this release:
Dutch domestique Moniek Tenniglo will be back again in 2020 after a signing up for another season with Mitchelton-SCOTT.
Tenniglo had to wait until March before making her debut for the team after breaking her elbow during the off-season. That injury put the 31-year-old on the back foot for the campaign, but she quickly proved her worth as a vital part of the team in both one-day races and stage races.
The Dutch rider’s performances saw her make it into the Giro Rosa squad and she played a valuable role as a domestique for eventual race winner Annemiek van Vleuten. Tenniglo is now looking forward to staying healthy during the winter and hitting the ground running with her new teammates in 2020.
Moniek Tenniglo:
“I’m really happy to sign again, it was a beautiful year, my most beautiful year in cycling and I’m really looking forward to another year with the team.”
“I missed some races after an injury in the off-season, so I also missed some good preparation and I think that affected my pace a bit, so it will be nice to see how next season will go after a good winter, hopefully without any injuries or problems.”
“I don’t know any of the new signings personally, but we have met them at the training camp and they are all really nice girls and they are already part of the team.”
“For me as a supporting rider I’m not aiming for any particular races, but of course it would be beautiful to ride the Giro again, but obviously the team will be the strongest selection, so I will do everything to be at the highest level.”
Martin Vestby (Sports Director):
“Moniek is a really strong domestique rider. She had a bad start to the year with a broken elbow in the winter, so she came into the team a little bit later than expected, so it took a little bit of time before we saw her level.”
“But the second part of the year has been really good, she now seems to have adapted to the team, both on and off the bike. She’s taking more space and feeling more secure and that also shows in the races where she’s taking chances in the final of races.”
Moniek Tenniglo
Date of Birth: 2 May 1988 (31)
Nationality: Dutch
Turned Pro: 2014
Joined Mitchelton-SCOTT: 2019
2019 Season Highlights:
• 4th Giro Rosa – Stage 1 TTT
• 8th Clasica Femenina Navarra
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