Degenkolb finishes 2013 with Paris-Tours victory
Argos-Shimano sprinter quickest in final race
The finale of Paris-Tours is a delicately-poised battle between the attackers and the sprinters, and John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano) reported for duty on both fronts en route to victory on the Avenue de Grammont on Sunday.
Degenkolb proved a convincing winner of the bunch sprint ahead of Michael Mørkøv (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Arnaud Démare (FDJ.fr), having already showcased his form by tracking what had appeared to be the race-winning move on the penultimate climb of the Côte de Beau Soleil with apparent ease.
Indeed, there can be little argument over the worthiness of the top three, given that Démare and Mørkøv also made it across to that dangerous seven-man break that formed in the finale but then petered out on the run-in to Tours, largely because of its preponderance of generals and dearth of foot soldiers.
Jetse Bol (Belkin) took advantage of that lack of cohesion in the group to slip clear on the descent of the final climb, the Côte de l'Épan, but once Degenkolb, Démare, Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) et al were caught with a shade under five kilometres to go, Argos-Shimano duly set about pegging back Bol.
Bol put up fierce resistance, aided in no small part by teammate Lars Boom’s spoiling tactics behind, but his insurgence was cruelly stamped out shortly after he swung onto the finishing straight with 800 metres to go. By that point, FDJ had taken over the reins at the head of the peloton, with Yoann Offredo prominent, and Démare was dropped off in front a shade over 200 metres from the line.
Démare was forced to open his sprint a little too early, perhaps, but in truth, it seemed that there was little to be done against the on-form Degenkolb, who won Paris-Bourges in midweek and had pedalled with such facility when he followed Marco Marcato’s attack on the Beau Soleil with 10 kilometres to race here. The German duly ripped past Démare and he had more than enough in reserve to hold off the fast-finishing Mørkøv to end his campaign with a classic victory.
“It was a pretty typical Paris-Tours, it was hectic on in the finale with those little hills and the situation kept changing,” Degenkolb said of his decision to take a risk by following the attacks on the penultimate climb. “I think I did it pretty smart as I didn’t waste too much energy, so I had something left for the finish. It was up to us to chase Bol when he was left out in front and you could see how strong the team was by the way they worked in the finale.”
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg was prominent in marshalling the chase of Bol, but Degenkolb was irritated by Belkin’s attempts to sabotage Argos-Shimano’s well-drilled pursuit. Boom, in particular, cleverly infiltrated the pace line and allowed Bol to stretch his lead out to 12 seconds with two kilometres remaining.
“I’m disappointed in Belkin. I know they didn’t want us to catch Bol they didn’t do it in such a good way,” Degenkolb said, darkly warning of further strife between the two remaining Dutch WorldTour teams. “It will have consequences in the future.”
How it unfolded
After heavy rain had such an impact on the world championships and the Tour of Lombardy over the past two weekends, the skies were mercifully clear as the peloton set out from Authon-du-Perche for a race that may now sadly be overlooked by the UCI WorldTour, but one that remains a reassuring constant in the cycling cosmos.
The early break featured Sebastian Lander (BMC), Julien Duval (Roubaix Lille Metropole), Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling) and Yannick Martinez (La Pomme-Marseille) and the quartet established a lead of ten minutes over the peloton by the 75km mark, before FDJ.fr, Garmin-Sharp and Argos-Shimano quietly went about the business of whittling down their advantage.
By the time they hit the Côte de Crochu with 31 kilometres to go, their margin had been pegged back to just 1:22, while the race behind was beginning to ignite into action thanks to a carefully-planned attack from Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s Niki Terpstra, who was looking to bring Sylvain Chavanel across with him. Argos-Shimano shut down the move over the summit, but it was a clear signal that the sprinters’ teams could expect fierce resistance on the run-in to Tours.
Sep Vanmarcke (Belkin) was the next to try his luck, bringing Martin Velits (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and four others away with him, but the sprinters’ teams never allowed them out of sight, and they were caught with 15 kilometres to go.
By that point, a number of riders had been jettisoned on the Crochu, and more were lost in a crash that brought down Bryan Coquard with 25km to go, although the Europcar youngster did manage to regain the bunch. Up ahead, the four leaders were beginning to weaken, and one by one, they faded away until the obvious strongman, Saramotins, was left out in front, but he, too, was caught on the approach to the Côte de Beau Soleil.
On the climb, defending champion Marco Marcato was instantly on the offensive, bringing Vanmarcke and Degenkolb clear with him, and they were joined soon afterwards by Sylvain Chavanel, Bol, Démare and Mørkøv, forming what looked every inch the winning break with 9 kilometres remaining.
The presence of so many sprinters may have dissuaded the bunch’s chase efforts, but it also discouraged collaboration in the break itself, and that reticence was compounded when the impressive Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) soloed across on the final climb. In the confusion over the summit, Bol managed to slip away, while his erstwhile companions were eventually enveloped by the peloton ahead of the rapid approach to Tours.
In those frantic closing kilometres, Argos-Shimano did what was required of them by their leader Degenkolb, and after Bol was caught, the German delivered a pitch perfect sprint finish to crown his season. “I’ve shown I’m a man for the classics this season,” Degenkolb said. “Paris-Tours was the next step for me after winning in Hamburg in August [at the Vattenfall Cyclassics – ed.] and I’m very satisfied."
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | 5:29:19 |
2 | Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
3 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ | |
4 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp | |
5 | Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
6 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling | |
7 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
8 | Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
9 | Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
10 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
11 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
12 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
13 | Kenneth Van Bilsen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
14 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
15 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
16 | Peio Bilbao (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
17 | Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
18 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
19 | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
20 | Graeme Brown (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
21 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
22 | Julien Simon (Fra) Sojasun | |
23 | Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
24 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
25 | Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha | |
26 | Kristof Goddaert (Bel) IAM Cycling | |
27 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol | |
28 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
29 | Romain Lemarchand (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
30 | Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team | |
31 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ | |
32 | Clément Koretzky (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
33 | Jean-Luc Delpech (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
34 | Christophe Premont (Bel) Crelan-Euphony | |
35 | Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale | |
36 | Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
37 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
38 | Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
39 | Stephane Rossetto (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | |
40 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | |
41 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun | |
42 | Adrian Saez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
43 | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
44 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ | |
45 | Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
46 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
47 | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha | |
48 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
49 | Zico Waeytens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
50 | David Lelay (Fra) Sojasun | |
51 | Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Sojasun | |
52 | Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ | |
53 | Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Sojasun | |
54 | Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
55 | Jean-Lou Paiani (Fra) Sojasun | |
56 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
57 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ | |
58 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
59 | Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
60 | Gael Malacarne (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
61 | Marco Bandiera (Ita) IAM Cycling | 0:00:08 |
62 | Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
63 | Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano | |
64 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
65 | Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin-Sharp | 0:00:11 |
66 | Lars Boom (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
67 | Jetse Bol (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
68 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
69 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
70 | Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | |
71 | Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:00:13 |
72 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 0:00:15 |
73 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:00:17 |
74 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:00:29 |
75 | Kevin Ista (Bel) IAM Cycling | 0:00:33 |
76 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:00:51 |
77 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Team Argos-Shimano | |
78 | Mathieu Drujon (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:00:59 |
79 | Julian Kern (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:02 |
80 | Yoann Paillot (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | 0:01:13 |
81 | Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
82 | Maxim Razumov (Rus) Katusha | |
83 | Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha | |
84 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
85 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
86 | Sébastien Hinault (Fra) IAM Cycling | |
87 | Renaud Dion (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
88 | Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
89 | Justin Jules (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
90 | Rudy Kowalski (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
91 | Stijn Steels (Bel) Crelan-Euphony | |
92 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise | |
93 | José Gonçalves (Por) La Pomme Marseille | |
94 | Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
95 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
96 | Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
97 | Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
98 | Frederic Brun (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
99 | Marko Kump (Slo) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
100 | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar | |
101 | Stig Broeckx (Bel) Lotto Belisol | 0:01:54 |
102 | Christophe Laborie (Fra) Sojasun | |
103 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
104 | Gregory Habeaux (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
105 | Kevin Lalouette (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
106 | Johann Van Zyl (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
107 | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
108 | Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:01:58 |
109 | Joshua Berry (USA) La Pomme Marseille | |
110 | James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:02:19 |
111 | Jakub Novak (Cze) BMC Racing Team | |
112 | Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka | |
113 | Klaas Sys (Bel) Crelan-Euphony | |
114 | Benjamin Verraes (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
115 | Loïc Desriac (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
116 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
117 | Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
118 | Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha | 0:02:25 |
119 | Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Garmin-Sharp | 0:03:16 |
120 | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | |
121 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling | |
122 | Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) MTN-Qhubeka | |
123 | Martin Wesemann (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
124 | Marcel Aregger (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
125 | Robert Vrecer (Slo) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
126 | Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha | |
127 | Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
128 | Franz Claes (Bel) Crelan-Euphony | |
129 | Franck Vermeulen (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
130 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
131 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar | |
132 | Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
133 | Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
134 | Gert Joeaar (Est) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
135 | Martin Reimer (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka | |
136 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
137 | Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Sharp | |
138 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:03:55 |
139 | Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:05:31 |
140 | Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:05:54 |
141 | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:06:17 |
142 | Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
143 | Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin-Sharp | |
144 | Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin-Sharp | |
145 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha | |
146 | Benjamin Giraud (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
147 | Julien Antomarchi (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
148 | Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:06:19 |
149 | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ | |
150 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ | |
151 | Morgan Kneisky (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
152 | Maxime Le Montagner (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
153 | Gaetan Bille (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
154 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
155 | Tim De Troyer (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
156 | Yannick Martinez (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
157 | Grégoire Tarride (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
158 | Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
159 | Steven Tronet (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | |
160 | Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
161 | Rick Flens (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
162 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun | |
163 | Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:08:06 |
164 | Sebastian Lander (Den) BMC Racing Team | |
165 | Jonathan Breyne (Bel) Crelan-Euphony | |
166 | Julien Duval (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
167 | Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:08:09 |
168 | Dominic Klemme (Ger) IAM Cycling | 0:08:53 |
169 | Alexandre Billon (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:09:05 |
170 | Kevin Verwaest (Bel) Doltcini-Flanders | |
171 | Romain Bacon (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:10:08 |
172 | Wesley Kreder (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
173 | Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
174 | Youcef Reguigui (Alg) MTN-Qhubeka | |
175 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
176 | Benoit Drujon (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:14:33 |
DNF | Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Sharp | |
DNF | Ricardo Mestre (Por) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar | |
DNF | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka | |
DNF | Koen Barbe (Bel) Crelan-Euphony | |
DNF | Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Garmin-Sharp | |
DNF | Theo Vimpere (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | |
DNF | Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Frederique Robert (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
DNF | Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | |
DNF | Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Team Europcar | |
DNF | Laurent Mangel (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Crelan-Euphony | |
DNF | Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Team Europcar |

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