Soren Kragh Andersen wins Paris-Tours

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Søren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb) won a revamped edition of Paris-Tours, triumphing with a late attack from an elite group after the seven hills and nine gravel sectors that made up the new finale.

On the famous Avenue de Grammont, Niki Terpstra (Quick Step Floors) beat Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) in the sprint for second place 25 seconds later. The pair had been part of the elite trio that emerged in the final 30km.

After a fast start, it was a hectic race in the final 50km as the peloton split apart on the gravel roads and various groups went up the road. First Kragh Andersen, and then Terpstra went away with 30km to race, before Cosnefroy soloed across soon after.

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Despite the best efforts of a strong chase group, containing Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) and Sep Vanmarcke (EF-Drapac) it became clear they would contest the podium positions, and then Kragh Andersen went for glory 10km out.

"I didn't really believe that this was possible," Kragh Andersen said after the finish. "I had some tough weeks after the Tour de France, but I was focused today and I really wanted it so i'm super happy with the outcome.

"It was really an awesome parcours - I really liked it. Some guys say it's dangerous but you also have to adapt. I loved it. I can almost not believe it but yeah it was the first classic win for me.

"I could only enjoy it when I was 100 metres from the line. It was a super hard last 10km but it was worth it."

How it unfolded

It was all change at Paris-Tours this year as one of the oldest races on the calendar received an overhaul. For the most part, the route remained fast and flat, heading south from Chartres towards Tours, but the finale was revamped.

Rather than the traditional Côtes de Crochu, Beau Soleil and l'Epan to test the sprinters and provide a springboard for late attacks, the final 60km twisted through vineyards, nine gravel path sectors and up seven hills. The traditional Avenue de Grammont finish would remain, but chances for sprinters at the 'Sprinter's Classic' were all but wiped out. 

In the early kilometres, a six-man breakaway got up the road. Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Énergie) was there in his final pro race. Joining the Frenchman were Bernhard Eisel (Dimension Data), Thibault Guernalec (Fortuneo-Samsic), Dries de Bondt (Veranda's Willems-Crelan), Brian Van Goethem (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij) and Emiel Vermeulen (Roubaix Lille Métropole).

The six men had a six-minute advantage at one point, but after a fast first two hours, during which the average speed was 48.5km/h, the gap was under two minutes. As the peloton briefly split going through the feed zone, Alex Dowsett (Katusha-Alpecin), Tom Devriendt (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Johan Le Bon (Vital Concept) got away to join up with the breakaway, which was only a minute up the road.

By the time the nine-man break reached the first climb of the day, their advantage was back up to two minutes with 60km to race. Hitting the first gravel sector 10km later, the gap was down to 10 seconds.

With the pace high at the front, it was no surprise to see the peloton split into many different groups on the gravel. Up front, the Belgians De Bondt and Devriendt were the last men standing from the break but they were soon caught.

As punctures hit in the peloton, Kragh Andersen and Terpstra emerged as an elite lead duo, having briefly been up front in a six-man group a few kilometres earlier. Cosnefroy would soon make it a lead trio.

Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale), Sep Vanmarcke (EF-Drapac) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) set off in pursuit heading into the final 20km, with the chasing trio some 30 seconds back down the road.

The chase group couldn't close that gap, however. Kragh Andersen made his move with 10km to go, with no reaction from his companions. The Dane quickly pulled out a 20-second gap, leaving Terpstra and Cosnefroy to fight over the remaining podium places on the run-in.

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