Hagenes wins Paris-Tours after late attack from elite group
The Norwegian went clear in the closing kilometres and held off Jasper Stuyven, with Christophe Laporte third.
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Per Strand Hagenes (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) won the 120th edition of Paris-Tours, attacking from a reduced front group inside the final kilometres and finishing alone after 217.3 kilometres from Chartres.
Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) chased him to the line and was second. Laporte, who has won the race before, took third to complete the day for Visma.
It is the fifth professional victory of Hagenes’ career and second of the season following his success at the Antwerp Port Epic in May.
How it unfolded
Five riders formed the early move: Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon CMA CGM), Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick-Step), Storm Ingebrigtsen (Uno-X Mobility), Matis Louvel and Julius van den Berg. Their lead went beyond three minutes.
The race changed on the unpaved vineyard sectors inside the final 60 kilometres. Punctures and repeated accelerations stretched the peloton, with Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) flatting at the wrong moment and spending a long time chasing. A crash with 49 kilometres remaining brought down Arnaud De Lie and Mathias Vacek among others.
Visma | Lease a Bike, Decathlon CMA CGM and Tudor Pro Cycling drove the chase as the front group came apart over the gravel.
Toms Skujiņš (Lidl-Trek) forced the decisive split with 20 kilometres to go, attacking repeatedly on the rolling côtes. Eleven riders came together at the front, including Hagenes, Laporte, Stuyven, Skujiņš, Paul Lapeira, Lewis Askey and Jonas Abrahamsen.
The group did not work well together on the run into Tours. Hagenes went, nobody reacted quickly enough, and Stuyven was left chasing alone.
Result: Paris-Tours
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