Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) outsprinted breakaway companion Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil-DCM) to win Paris-Tours on Sunday. Kasper Klostergaard of Saxo Bank-Sungard took third, as the expected mass sprint didn't materialise.
"I'm really good at sprinting after a long hard race and so is he ...but in the end I was stronger," Van Avermaet said. "I was happy he was working very well in the end. We decided to go full out to the finish and then see who was the fastest in the sprint.
"The team did a really good job and we tried to make the whole race really hard and control the race the whole day."
188 riders set out into the wind and rain on the day, with less than half of them making it to the end.
A group of seven riders five riders got away early and built up a lead of just over 11 minutes. However, the lead of Will Clarke (Leopard Trek), David Boucher (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Sébastien Delfosse (Landbouwkrediet), Rubens Bertogliati (Team Type 1), Andreas Klier (Garmin Cervelo), Rony Martias (Saur Sojasun) and Jurgen Van Goolen (Veranda's Willems – Accent) came down under pressure from behind.
The sprinters' teams gave furious chase, with Rabobank for defending champion Oscar Freire and HTC-Highroad riding for World champion Mark Cavendish leading the way.However, none of the sprinters' teams was able to organise things enough to bring their speedy men up to the very front.
With about 70 km to go, the gap had shrunk enough that an additional 15 riders, including Van Avermaet, was able to bridge up to the group. The larger group's lead never reached the two minute mark, but it was enough.
Arnaud Gerard (FDJ) was the first to attack out of the breakaway, at about the 17km marker. Van Avermaet and Marcato gave chase, easily catching and dropping the Frenchman. Sylvain Chavanel and Philippe Gilbert tried desperately to bridge up from the peloton, but couldn't get away.
The two leaders took enough of a lead into the final kilometer to not worry about their chasers. Van Avermaet hung on to Marcato's rear wheel before taking off at the 300 meter mark to win.
Full Results
| 1 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 5:21:43 |
| 2 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:00:02 |
| 3 | Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | 0:00:15 |
| 4 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| 5 | Laszlo Bodrogi (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| 6 | Mickaël Delage (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:22 |
| 7 | Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Team RadioShack | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| 8 | Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Leopard Trek | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| 9 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Skil - Shimano | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:26 |
| 11 | John Degenkolb (Ger) HTC-Highroad | 0:00:48 |
| 12 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
| 13 | David Boucher (Fra) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
| 14 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
| 15 | Damien Gaudin (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
| 16 | Vitaliy Buts (Ukr) Lampre - ISD | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
| 17 | Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
| 18 | Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis | 0:00:53 |
| 19 | Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team RadioShack | 0:01:23 |
| 20 | Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
| 21 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
| 22 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil - Shimano | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
| 23 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
| 24 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
| 25 | Greg Henderson (NZl) Sky Procycling | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
| 26 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
| 27 | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
| 28 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
| 29 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
| 30 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
| 31 | Baden Cooke (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
| 32 | Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
| 33 | Jetse Bol (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
| 34 | Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
| 35 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
| 36 | Steven Van Vooren (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
| 37 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
| 38 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
| 39 | Roger Kluge (Ger) Skil - Shimano | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
| 40 | Daniel Lloyd (GBr) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
| 41 | Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) FDJ | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
| 42 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) HTC-Highroad | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
| 43 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
| 44 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) HTC-Highroad | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
| 45 | Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
| 46 | Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
| 47 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
| 48 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
| 49 | Zakkari Dempster (Aus) HTC-Highroad | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
| 50 | Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
| 51 | Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
| 52 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
| 53 | Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Sky Procycling | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
| 54 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
| 55 | Jérémie Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | 0:01:31 |
| 56 | Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:34 |
| 57 | Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:36 |
| 58 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
| 59 | Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
| 60 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
| 61 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
| 62 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
| 63 | Andreas Klier (Ger) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
| 64 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
| 65 | Bert Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
| 66 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Skil - Shimano | 0:01:40 |
| 67 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | 0:01:46 |
| 68 | Steven Caethoven (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Accent | 0:02:14 |
| 69 | Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
| 70 | Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
| 71 | Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Accent | 0:02:30 |
| 72 | Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
| 73 | Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
| 74 | Nicolas Rousseau (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93) | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
| 75 | Martin Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
| 76 | Rony Martias (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | 0:02:47 |
| 77 | Jürgen Van Goolen (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Accent | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
| 78 | Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:03:17 |
| 79 | Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | 0:04:22 |
| 80 | André Steensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | 0:07:25 |
| 81 | Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
| 82 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team RadioShack | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
| 83 | Matthew Brammeier (Irl) HTC-Highroad | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
| 84 | Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
| 85 | Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:13:56 |
| 86 | William Clarke (Aus) Leopard Trek | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
| 87 | Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:15:11 |
| 88 | Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
| 89 | Juan José Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
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