2021 GP d'Ouverture - La Marseillaise (1.1)
42nd edition: Sunday, January 31, 2021
GP d'Ouverture - La Marseillaise podium history | 2020 edition | 2022 edition | Map & profile | Photos | Start list
Marseille - Marseille, 171.6 km
Aurélien Paret-Peintre barely takes the race. Photo: M. L. Thomas
Weather at Marseille at 1:30 PM, local time: Sunny, 13C (56F), 1% chance of rain, wind from the northwest at 26 km/hr (16 mph)
The race: Here's the report from 6th-place Tim Wellens' Lotto-Soudal team.
The new cycling season kicked off at the Grand Prix de La Marseillaise today, in which the team chose for an offensive way of racing. Tim Wellens started the attacks on the early slopes of the Route des Crêtes, the final and decisive ascent of the day.
Due to the strong headwind, the 29-year-old Belgian realised that it was too early for an all-out attack and decided to wait. Afterwards, the attacks followed in quick succession until a front group of four took shape, which included Lotto Soudal youngster Andreas Kron. Unfortunately, with the summit in sight, Kron and his breakaway companions were caught. A heavily reduced peloton sprinted for victory in Marseille and it was the Frenchman Paret-Peintre who was the fastest and won the GP de La Marseillaise. Tim Wellens finished as first Lotto Soudal rider in sixth place and comments on an offensive race.
“It was a really nice race today, with a lot of altitude metres and some technical parts”, says Tim Wellens. “I tried to attack on the Route des Crêtes, but due to the strong headwind, I decided to sit up and wait for the chasing group. Andreas Kron did a nice effort and aimed for the win, but unfortunately, the headwind really made it a ‘mission impossible’. At the end, it was a strange sprint in which having the best timing and a little bit of luck turned out to be crucial. But I am happy about my race and the legs definitely feel good.”
Danish rider Andreas Kron, who rode his first race in Lotto Soudal outfit today, immediately showed his potential. The 22-year-old was part of a four-man breakaway that made an attempt to escape the sprint.
“I really enjoyed my first race in Lotto Soudal colours ”, said Andreas Kron. “We tried to make it a hard race in the end and we aimed for the win. We can be proud of how we raced today, but unfortunately we couldn’t obtain a top result. The headwind played a really important role in the final and made it virtually impossible to stay ahead. Also the teammates of the fast guys in the chasing group were eager to catch us. But hey, if you don’t try, you don’t win right?”, concludes the 22-year-old Dane.
Philippe Gilbert, who became father last week, added: “It was a difficult first race for me, just as I expected. But this gives me the opportunity to do some nice in-race efforts which will definitely help me to further build my shape.”
Complete Results:
171.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 38.929 km/hr
| 1 | PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien | AG2R Citroën | 4hr 24min 29sec |
| 2 | BOUDAT Thomas | Arkéa Samsic | s.t. |
| 3 | COQUARD Bryan | B & B Hotels | s.t. |
| 4 | GALVÁN Francisco | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 5 | LIVYNS Arjen | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 6 | WELLENS Tim | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 7 | TRENTIN Matteo | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 8 | CALMEJANE Lilian | AG2R Citroën | s.t. |
| 9 | EL FARES Julien | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 10 | EIKING Odd Christian | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 11 | BOUET Maxime | Arkéa Samsic | s.t. |
| 12 | TURGIS Anthony | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 13 | GALLOPIN Tony | AG2R Citroën | s.t. |
| 14 | THOMAS Benjamin | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 15 | BELLICAUD Jeremy | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 16 | HERRADA Jesús | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 17 | GIBBONS Ryan | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 18 | PEREZ Anthony | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 19 | BOASSON HAGEN Edvald | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 20 | VUILLERMOZ Alexis | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 21 | TAARAMÄE Rein | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 22 | FERNÁNDEZ Rubén | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 23 | DELAPLACE Anthony | Arkéa Samsic | s.t. |
| 24 | CARR Simon | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 25 | CAPIOT Amaury | Arkéa Samsic | s.t. |
| 26 | BARTHE Cyril | B & B Hotels | s.t. |
| 27 | COVI Alessandro | UAE-Team Emirates | @ 13sec |
| 28 | HIVERT Jonathan | B & B Hotels | s.t. |
| 29 | KRON Andreas | Lotto Soudal | 0:15 |
| 30 | GASTAUER Ben | AG2R Citroën | 0:18 |
| 31 | BONNAMOUR Franck | B & B Hotels | 0:20 |
| 32 | PACHER Quentin | B & B Hotels | 0:25 |
| 33 | PASQUALON Andrea | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | 3:22 |
| 34 | LAPORTE Christophe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 35 | DEGENKOLB John | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 36 | WILLEMS Thimo | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 37 | VAN DEN BOSSCHE Fabio | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 38 | VAN ROOY Kenneth | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 39 | OLIVEIRA Rui | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 40 | TRARIEUX Julien | Delko | s.t. |
| 41 | LOPEZ Jordi | Kern Pharma | 3:25 |
| 42 | LEDANOIS Kévin | Arkéa Samsic | s.t. |
| 43 | OLDANI Stefano | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 44 | NICOLAU Joel | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 45 | GARCIA Raul | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 46 | FINETTO Mauro | Delko | s.t. |
| 47 | JENSEN August | Delko | s.t. |
| 48 | ROCHAS Rémy | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 49 | GILBERT Philippe | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 50 | MENTEN Milan | Bingoal-WB | 4:32 |
| 51 | VAN MOER Brent | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 52 | HERREGODTS Rune | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 53 | DE VYLDER Lindsay | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 54 | MAURELET Flavien | St Michel-Auber93 | s.t. |
| 55 | ŘEPA Vojtěch | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 56 | LAMMERTINK Maurits | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 57 | ROSA Diego | Arkéa Samsic | s.t. |
| 58 | BAGÜES Aritz | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 59 | BISSEGGER Stefan | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 60 | MOLLY Kenny | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 61 | PRODHOMME Nicolas | AG2R Citroën | s.t. |
| 62 | FERASSE Thibault | B & B Hotels | s.t. |
| 63 | LATOUR Pierre | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 64 | LAENGEN Vegard Stake | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 65 | PAASSCHENS Mathijs | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 66 | PAILLOT Yoann | St Michel-Auber93 | 9:03 |
| 67 | LOUVET Louis | St Michel-Auber93 | s.t. |
| 68 | BRUNEL Alexys | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 69 | BARRENETXEA Jon | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 70 | OWSIAN Łukasz | Arkéa Samsic | s.t. |
| 71 | ETXEBERRIA Josu | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 72 | GONZÁLEZ David | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 73 | MARTÍN Sergio Roman | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 74 | CENTRONE Ivan | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 75 | LEVEAU Jérémy | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 76 | URRUTY Maxime | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 77 | MARQUEZ Marti | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 78 | EDET Nicolas | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 79 | RUIZ Ibon | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 80 | RIABUSHENKO Alexandr | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 81 | VAN DEN BERG Julius | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 82 | GUILLONNET Adrien | St Michel-Auber93 | s.t. |
| 83 | VAN DER TUUK Danny | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 84 | LANGEVELD Sebastian | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 85 | SEIGLE Romain | Groupama-FDJ | 13:59 |
| 86 | BLEIER Baptiste | St Michel-Auber93 | 15:37 |
| 87 | FEDELI Alessandro | Delko | s.t. |
| 88 | LIENHARD Fabian | Groupama-FDJ | 15:56 |
| 89 | VAN DEN BERG Lars | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 90 | DEVRIENDT Tom | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 91 | DELACROIX Theo | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 92 | DUVAL Julien | AG2R Citroën | s.t. |
| 93 | SOUPE Geoffrey | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 94 | ANTOMARCHI Julien | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 95 | KOWALSKI Dylan | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 96 | HUYS Laurens | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 97 | LIETAER Eliot | B & B Hotels | s.t. |
| 98 | BOHLI Tom | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 99 | PEYSKENS Dimitri | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 100 | WIRTGEN Luc | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 101 | SISKEVICIUS Evaldas | Delko | s.t. |
| 102 | STEWART Jake | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 103 | BONNET William | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 104 | THIJSSEN Gerben | Lotto Soudal | 16:46 |
| 105 | REYNDERS Jens | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 106 | TROIA Oliviero | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 107 | SCULLY Tom | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 108 | LAWLESS Chris | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 109 | VAN NIEKERK Morne | St Michel-Auber93 | s.t. |
| 110 | LEVASSEUR Jordan | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
Course map
Course profile
Front page of the sponsoring newspaper.
A toast after the win.
Winner Paret-Peintre enjoys his win.
Second-place Thomas Boudat (#73) just after the race.
Just after the finish. Paret-Peintre is the center of attention.
Another view of the finish. Photo: Fred Machabert
B & B Hotels (Bryan Coquard, the sprinter in the center) posted this photo of the finish.
Aurelien Paret-Peintre (on the left of the front trio) wins the first big European race.
The finish
There was plenty of aggression. Here Eliot Leitaer (B & B) and Jens Reynders (Sport Vlaanderen) try their luck.
Before the race, one does need a bike
Before the race the teams were presented. Here's EF Pro Cycling.
The team of the race winner, Ag2r Citroën
Lotto-Soudal before the race.
And here's Xelliss - Roubaix Lille Metropole
Start list with backnumbers, January 30, 2021:
119 riders entered
| ACT Ag2r Citroen Team FRA |
| DS: GOUBERT Stéphane |
| 1 GALLOPIN Tony |
| 2 CALMEJANE Lilian |
| 3 BIDARD François |
| 4 GASTAUER Ben |
| 5 PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien |
| 6 PRODHOMME Nicolas |
| 7 DUVAL Julien |
| GFC Groupama - Fdj FRA |
| DS: BRICAUD Thierry |
| 11 BRUNEL Alexys |
| 12 BONNET William |
| 13 LIENHARD Fabian |
| 14 STEWART Jake |
| 15 SEIGLE Romain |
| 16 THOMAS Benjamin |
| 17 VAN DEN BERG Lars |
| COF Cofidis FRA |
| DS: JONROND Jean-Luc |
| 21 HERRADA Jesús |
| 22 EDET Nicolas |
| 23 FERNÁNDEZ Rubén |
| 24 PEREZ Anthony |
| 25 ROCHAS Rémy |
| 26 LAPORTE Christophe |
| 27 BOHLI Tom |
| UAD UAE Team Emirates UAE |
| DS: PEDRAZZINI SIMONE |
| 31 TRENTIN Matteo |
| 32 LAENGEN Vegard Stake |
| 33 COVI Alessandro |
| 34 GIBBONS Ryan |
| 35 OLIVEIRA Rui |
| 36 RIABUSHENKO Alexandr |
| 37 TROIA Oliviero |
| EFN Ef Education - Nippo USA |
| DS: BRESCHEL Matti |
| 41 EL FARES Julien |
| 42 BISSEGGER Stefan |
| 43 CARR Simon |
| 44 LANGEVELD Sebastian |
| 45 RUTSCH Jonas |
| 46 SCULLY Tom |
| 47 VAN DEN BERG Julius |
| LTS Lotto Soudal BEL |
| DS: SERGEANT Marc |
| 51 GILBERT Philippe |
| 52 WELLENS Tim |
| 53 DEGENKOLB John |
| 54 KRON Andreas |
| 55 OLDANI Stefano |
| 56 THIJSSEN Gerben |
| 57 VAN MOER Brent |
| IWG Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux – BEL |
| DS: ROSSIGNON Jean-Marc |
| 61 PASQUALON Andrea |
| 62 DEVRIENDT Tom |
| 63 EIKING Odd Christian |
| 64 BELLICAUD Jeremy |
| 65 DELACROIX Theo |
| 66 TAARAMÄE Rein |
| 67 LAMMERTINK Maurits |
| ARK Arkea Pro Cycling Team FRA |
| DS: GERARD Arnaud |
| 71 ROSA Diego |
| 72 CAPIOT Amaury |
| 73 BOUDAT Thomas |
| 74 OWSIAN Łukasz |
| 75 LEDANOIS Kévin |
| 76 DELAPLACE Anthony |
| 77 BOUET Maxime |
| DKO Delko FRA |
| DS: GIRAUD Benjamin |
| 81 FEDELI Alessandro |
| 82 FINETTO Mauro |
| 83 SISKEVICIUS Evaldas |
| 84 JENSEN August |
| 85 LE TURNIER Mathias |
| 86 TRARIEUX Julien |
| 87 DE ROSSI Lucas |
| TDE Total Direct Energie FRA |
| DS: ARNOULD Dominique |
| 91 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald |
| 92 GRELLIER Fabien |
| 93 LATOUR Pierre |
| 94 LAWLESS Chris |
| 95 SOUPE Geoffrey |
| 96 TURGIS Anthony |
| 97 VUILLERMOZ Alexis |
| BBK B&B Hotels P/B Ktm FRA |
| DS: ROUS Didier |
| 101 HIVERT Jonathan |
| 102 BARTHE Cyril |
| 103 BONNAMOUR Franck |
| 104 COQUARD Bryan |
| 105 FERASSE Thibault |
| 106 LIETAER Eliot |
| 107 PACHER Quentin |
| SVB Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise – BEL |
| DS: PLANCKAERT Walter |
| 111 VAN ROOY Kenneth |
| 112 DE VYLDER Lindsay |
| 113 HERREGODTS Rune |
| 114 REYNDERS Jens |
| 115 VAN DEN BOSSCHE Fabio |
| 116 WEEMAES Sasha |
| 117 WILLEMS Thimo |
| CJR Caja Rural-Seguros Rga ESP |
| DS: MARTINEZ HERNANDEZ Ruben |
| 121 GONZÁLEZ David |
| 122 AMEZQUETA Julen |
| 123 BAGÜES Aritz |
| 124 BARRENETXEA Jon |
| 125 ETXEBERRIA Josu |
| 126 MARTÍN Sergio Roman |
| 127 NICOLAU Joel |
| EKP Equipo Kern Pharma ESP |
| DS: URTASUN PEREZ Pablo |
| 131 MARQUEZ Marti |
| 132 GALVÁN Francisco |
| 133 LOPEZ Jordi |
| 134 RUIZ Ibon |
| 135 VAN DER TUUK Danny |
| 136 ŘEPA Vojtěch |
| 137 GARCIA Raul |
| BWB Bingoal WB BEL |
| DS: KAISEN Olivier |
| 141 LIVYNS Arjen |
| 142 PAASSCHENS Mathijs |
| 143 MENTEN Milan |
| 144 MOLLY Kenny |
| 145 HUYS Laurens |
| 146 PEYSKENS Dimitri |
| 147 WIRTGEN Luc |
| XRL Xelliss - Roubaix Lille Metropole – FRA |
| DS: DERNIES Michel |
| 151 ANTOMARCHI Julien |
| 152 CENTRONE Ivan |
| 153 DE WITTE Mathias |
| 154 KOWALSKI Dylan |
| 155 LEVASSEUR Jordan |
| 156 LEVEAU Jérémy |
| 157 URRUTY Maxime |
| AUB St Michel - Auber 93 FRA |
| DS: JAVALET Stephane |
| 161 HUREL Tony |
| 162 BLEIER Baptiste |
| 163 GUILLONNET Adrien |
| 164 LOUVET Louis |
| 165 MAURELET Flavien |
| 166 PAILLOT Yoann |
| 167 VAN NIEKERK Morne |