Bouhanni defends title at GP de Denain
Frenchman wins the bunch sprint
Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) continued his run of success at the Grand Prix de Denain, winning the hectic, high-speed sprint that decided the French one-day race on Thursday.
Bouhanni got a perfect lead out from his Cofidis teammates and then accelerated from his rivals to win by a bike length, with his arms in the air. Boris Vallee (Lotto Soudal) was second and Ruby Barbier (Roubaix Lille Metropole) finished third.
It was Bouhanni's second consecutive win at the Grand Prix de Denain and especially pleasing for the Frenchman because the Cofidis headquarters is not far away.
"The team did a great job today and the train was absolutely perfect, I had to win…" Bouhanni said as he caught his breath after the sprint.
Thanks to his two stage wins at the last week's Circuit Sarthe and other placing in early-season French races, Bouhanni now leads the Coupe de France season-long competition but is happier to be winning regularly after a series of frustrating placing early in the season.
"The Coupe de France is not really a goal for me, it was more about winning," he admitted. "I like racing up here, it's always been good to me. It's good to win, it's good for morale. I've got a training camp coming up next and then I'll ride the Bayern Rundefahrt in Germany."
How it happened
The Grand Prix de Denain covers the lanes and roads of northern France, south of Lille and close to the border with Belgium. The same area hosts many of the cobbled sectors used in Paris-Roubaix but the Grand Prix de Denain is traditionally a race for the sprinters. The 204km route of this 56th edition included a loop north of Valenciennes and then three 20km laps of a finishing circuit, giving riders a chance to see the finale for the expected sprint finish.
The break of the day formed after 60km, with Ludwig de Winter (Wallonnie Bruxelles), Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) and Sebastien Turgot (Ag2r-La Mondiale) going clear and opening a three-minute lead. The peloton let them hang out front all day, with Cofidis left with the responsibility of chasing them down. However, the French Professional Continental team was up to the job and the trio had a lead of 1:30 with one lap remaining.
The trio's lead melted as the kilometres ticked down and in the last 15 kilometres, only Geniez had the legs and desire to push on alone. He forced the peloton to work hard, with Europcar also hitting the front for Bryan Coquard. However, Geniez was eventually swept up with four kilometres to go.
By then the Cofidis team were leading the peloton with five riders lined-up ahead of Bouhanni. Other teams were fighting for the wheels and Lotto Soudal came up to match Cofidis but the French team stayed in control, even if the speed was not very high.
As the final kilometre began, Bouhanni still had two teammates ahead of him and they timed their effort perfectly, with Bouhanni opening up his sprint just as other riders began to move up from behind.
When he upped his speed, he quickly distanced everyone, leaving the rest of the peloton to fight for the placing as he celebrated and happily pointed to his Cofidis logo.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 4:29:25 |
2 | Boris Vallee (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
3 | Rudy Barbier (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetTeam Roompotole | |
4 | Raymond Kreder (Ned) Team Roompot | |
5 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
6 | Alexis Bodiot (Fra) Equipe Cycliste de l'Armee de Terre | |
7 | Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
8 | Lorenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
9 | Timothy Dupont (Bel) Roubaix Lille MetTeam Roompotole | |
10 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team EuTeam Roompotcar | |
11 | Benjamin Giraud (Fra) Team Marseille 13 KTM | |
12 | Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
13 | Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Roompot | |
14 | Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
15 | Baptiste Plackaert (Bel) Roubaix Lille MetTeam Roompotole | |
16 | Antoine Demoitie (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles | |
17 | David Menut (Fra) Auber 93 | |
18 | Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
19 | Laurent Evrard (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles | |
20 | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
21 | Etienne Van Empel (Ned) Team Roompot | |
22 | Anthony Maldonado (Fra) Auber 93 | |
23 | Jarl Salomein (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
24 | Michael Reihs (Den) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
25 | Romain Feillu (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
26 | Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
27 | Alo Jakin (Est) Auber 93 | |
28 | Christian Mager (Ger) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
28 | Alexandre Blain (Fra) Team Marseille 13 KTM | |
30 | David Boucher (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
31 | Benoît Sinner (Fra) Equipe Cycliste de l'Armee de Terre | |
32 | Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
33 | Julien Duval (Fra) Equipe Cycliste de l'Armee de Terre | |
34 | César Bihel (Fra) Auber 93 | |
35 | Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Team Marseille 13 KTM | |
36 | Yoann Barbas (Fra) Equipe Cycliste de l'Armee de Terre | |
37 | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling | |
38 | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
39 | Fabien Canal (Fra) Equipe Cycliste de l'Armee de Terre | |
40 | Frantisek Padour (Cze) Androni Giocattoli | |
41 | Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
42 | Karel Hnik (Cze) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
43 | Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
44 | Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
45 | Romain Lemarchand (Fra) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
46 | Dieter Bouvry (Bel) Roubaix Lille MetTeam Roompotole | |
47 | Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Roubaix Lille MetTeam Roompotole | |
48 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Marseille 13 KTM | |
49 | Yoann Paillot (Fra) Team Marseille 13 KTM | |
50 | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | |
51 | Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Team Marseille 13 KTM | |
52 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
53 | Alex Kirsch (Lux) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
54 | Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetTeam Roompotole | |
55 | Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Southeast Pro Cycling | |
56 | Julien Guay (Fra) Auber 93 | |
57 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF | 0:00:10 |
58 | Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Team Roompot | |
59 | Wesley Kreder (Ned) Team Roompot | |
60 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
61 | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
62 | Kevin Ista (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles | |
63 | Jeremy Leveau (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetTeam Roompotole | |
64 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team EuTeam Roompotcar | |
65 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:22 |
66 | Berden De Vries (Ned) Team Roompot | |
67 | Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Team EuTeam Roompotcar | 0:00:30 |
68 | Frédéric Brun (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | 0:00:32 |
69 | Boris Dron (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:34 |
70 | Rudy Kowalski (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetTeam Roompotole | 0:00:35 |
71 | Clément Penven (Fra) Team Marseille 13 KTM | |
72 | Lander Seynaeve (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:42 |
73 | Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
74 | Maxime Cam (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
75 | Kenneth Van Bilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:53 |
76 | Simone Ponzi (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling | 0:01:03 |
77 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling | |
78 | Matteo Busato (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling | |
79 | Giorgio Cecchinel (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling | |
80 | Maxime Daniel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
81 | Tom Dernies (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles | |
82 | Bryan Naulleau (Fra) Team EuTeam Roompotcar | |
83 | Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
84 | Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
85 | Johan Van Summeren (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | |
86 | Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
87 | Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:01:17 |
88 | Olivier Chevalier (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles | 0:01:27 |
89 | Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ.fr | 0:01:34 |
90 | James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:02:02 |
91 | Amaury Capiot (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
92 | Tim Kerkhof (Ned) Team Roompot | |
93 | Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
94 | Martin Mortensen (Den) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | 0:02:10 |
95 | Joel Zangerle (Lux) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
96 | Gert Joeaar (Est) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:22 |
97 | Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF | 0:02:46 |
98 | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
99 | Christophe Laborie (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | 0:03:07 |
100 | Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | 0:03:36 |
101 | Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
102 | Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:03:41 |
103 | Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:04:11 |
104 | Andrea Piechele (Ita) Bardiani CSF | 0:04:53 |
105 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling | 0:04:56 |
106 | Romain Combaud (Fra) Equipe Cycliste de l'Armee de Terre | |
107 | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
108 | Carlos Galviz (Ven) Androni Giocattoli | |
109 | Alberto Nardin (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | 0:04:58 |
110 | Loic Pestiaux (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles | 0:04:59 |
111 | Jonathan Dufrasne (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles | |
112 | Moreno De Pauw (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
113 | Morgan Lamoisson (Fra) Team EuTeam Roompotcar | |
114 | Julien Morice (Fra) Team EuTeam Roompotcar | |
115 | Dan Craven (Nam) Team EuTeam Roompotcar | |
116 | Steven Tronet (Fra) Auber 93 | |
117 | Grégoire Tarride (Fra) Team Marseille 13 KTM | 0:05:06 |
118 | Ludwig De Winter (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles | 0:06:53 |
119 | Biel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:06:54 |
120 | Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF | 0:06:56 |
121 | Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
122 | Romain Le Roux (Fra) Equipe Cycliste de l'Armee de Terre | |
123 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Team EuTeam Roompotcar | 0:06:58 |
124 | Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
DNF | Dominique Rollin (Can) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
DNF | Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Marco Bandiera (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
DNF | Fabio Taborre (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
DNF | Samuele Conti (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling | |
DNF | Frederique Robert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
DNF | Etienne Tortelier (Fra) Equipe Cycliste de l'Armee de Terre |
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