Wallays wins two-man sprint to claim Paris-Tours
Voeckler forced to settle for second
Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise) took the biggest win of his career with victory over Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) in Paris-Tours on Sunday. The pair had been part of a break that formed in the early stages of the 237-kilometre race and held on all the way until the finish, managing to hold off the main favourites in the peloton with Jens Debusschere (Lotto Belisol) taking third.
Wallays, who won the same event at the under-23 level in 2010, delivered a tactically astute race, following Voeckler’s attack on the final climb when the remnants of the early break began to falter, and then forcing the more experienced Frenchman to lead the sprint out as the bunch desperately tried to get back on terms.
The leading pair had been part of a seven-man move that formed within the opening kilometres. Voeckler, looking to put a year disrupted by injury behind him was one of the first to instigate the attack with Wallays, Kevin Van Melsen (Wanty - Groupe Gobert), Cesare Benedetti (Team Netapp – Endura), Yoann Paillot (La Pomme Marseille), Pierre Gouault (BigMat - Auber 93) and Julien Duval (Roubaix Lille Metropole) joining the fray.
The race has a habit of bringing forward surprise winners but the dice were loaded in the sprinters’ teams favour, even when the break established a lead of over seven minutes.
Giant-Shimano's John Degenkolb and Arnaud Demare (FDJ.fr) had lined up in a wet and chilly depart as the main favourites and when they began to set their teams to work in the first half of the race it looked as though the WorldTour pedigree in the bunch would win out.
When the gap was reduced to two minutes with 30 kilometres remaining it looked as though the writing was on the wall but as the roads narrowed in the finale so did the sprinters’ chances.
Voeckler harried his companions to fight on as they tackled the third last climb of the Côte de Crochu as Giant-Shimano and FDJ slalomed through the corners. At the back of the field there were several crashes, one involving a race motorbike, as the wet roads, tired legs and last ditch efforts combined to take the sting out of the peloton.
Voeckler, Wallays, and Van Melsen powered clear, distancing the rest of the break before the Côte de Beau Soleil.
The gap to the trio was still ticking down but as the peloton hit the climb Sep Vanmarcke – just as he had done 12 months previously – attacked. The Belkin rider split the field, dragging with him a group containing Degenkolb, his Giant-Shimano teammate Ramon Sinkeldam and several others with him.
Sinkeldam was the power the break needed as they looked to cut across to the three leaders. Degenkolb’s presence, however, seemed to unsettle his rivals in the move as Vockler attacked up ahead and dragged Wallays with him.
Demare and FDJ were floundering, briefly unable to match Giant’s aggression but even when the leading duo hit the final climb of the Côte de l'Épan they still held a 30-second advantage.
If the bunch were going to react it had to be now. Degenkolb’s group had lost its urgency with riders either sitting up or launching attacks and it was Garmin who eventually brought the field back together.
Voecker and Wallays had been given too much room. They only relented in pace sharing once the finish was in sight, with Voeckler constantly looking over his shoulder as Wallays sat back and let the more experienced ride into the wind.
The Frenchman duly opened up his sprint inside the final 150 meters but there was already an air of resignation around him as he watched Wallays come around his left-hand side and take a comfortable win.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 5:26:18 |
2 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | |
3 | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol | 0:00:12 |
4 | Roy Jans (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
5 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling | |
6 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
7 | Kristan Sbaragli (Ita) MTN - Qhubeka | |
8 | Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra) Bretagne - Seche Environnement | |
9 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
10 | Jos Van Emden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
11 | Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
12 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling | |
13 | Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
14 | Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
15 | Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin Sharp | |
16 | Tiesj Benoot Lotto Belisol | |
17 | Dennis Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
18 | Jay Mccarthy (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
19 | Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
20 | Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
21 | Sébastien Hinault (Fra) IAM Cycling | |
22 | Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale | |
23 | Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale | |
24 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
25 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
26 | José Goncalves (Por) La Pomme Marseille | |
27 | Loic Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
28 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Belisol | 0:00:19 |
29 | Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
30 | Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
31 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling | |
32 | Oliver Naesen (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
33 | Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
34 | Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
35 | Morgan Lamoisson (Fra) Team Europcar | |
36 | Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar | |
37 | Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing | |
38 | Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) IAM Cycling | 0:00:26 |
39 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
40 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:00:29 |
41 | Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:36 |
42 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:39 |
43 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano | |
44 | Tim De Troyer (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:41 |
45 | Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:01:08 |
46 | Grégory Rast (Swi) Trek Factory Racing | |
47 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano | 0:01:16 |
48 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:22 |
49 | Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:01:50 |
50 | Edward Theuns (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:02:33 |
51 | Alexander Krieger (Ger) Team Netapp - Endura | 0:02:39 |
52 | Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | 0:02:49 |
53 | Sebastian Lander (Den) BMC Racing Team | 0:02:51 |
54 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Bretagne - Seche Environnement | |
55 | Ralf Matzka (Ger) Team Netapp - Endura | |
56 | Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
57 | Jarl Salomein (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:03:12 |
58 | Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) MTN - Qhubeka | |
59 | Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
60 | Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
61 | Benjamin Giraud (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
62 | Martin Wesemann (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka | 0:04:17 |
63 | Andreas Stauff (Ger) MTN - Qhubeka | |
64 | Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling | |
65 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano | |
66 | Domingos Goncalves (Por) La Pomme Marseille | |
67 | Taruia Krainer (Fra) Team Europcar | |
68 | Pierre Gouault (Fra) BigMat - Auber 100 | |
69 | Marcel Aregger (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
70 | Justin Jules (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
71 | Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
72 | Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
73 | Steven Tronet (Fra) BigMat - Auber 98 | |
74 | Yoann Paillot (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
75 | Théo Vimpere (Fra) BigMat - Auber 99 | |
76 | Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
77 | Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
78 | Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
79 | Timothy Dupont (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
80 | Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | |
81 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
82 | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
83 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
84 | Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
85 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano | |
86 | Woutpoels (Ned) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
87 | Dylan Girdlestone (RSA) Garmin Sharp | |
88 | Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-Shimano | |
89 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
90 | Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne - Seche Environnement | |
91 | Christophe Laborie (Fra) Bretagne - Seche Environnement | |
92 | Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
93 | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
94 | Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
95 | Damien Gaudin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
96 | Kenny De Haes (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
97 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
98 | Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:05:11 |
99 | Julien Duval (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:06:06 |
100 | Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:08:05 |
101 | Björn Leukemans (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:08:51 |
102 | Romain Feillu (Fra) Bretagne - Seche Environnement | |
103 | Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek Factory Racing | |
104 | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek Factory Racing | |
105 | Robert Wagner (Ger) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
106 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
107 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne - Seche Environnement | 0:10:24 |
108 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
109 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
110 | Clément Koretzky (Fra) Bretagne - Seche Environnement | |
111 | Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:10:27 |
112 | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar | |
113 | Rick Flens (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
114 | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
115 | Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) IAM Cycling | |
116 | Jetse Bol (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
117 | Johann Van Zyl (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka | |
118 | Jaco Venter (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka | |
119 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | |
120 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) BigMat - Auber 93 | 0:10:33 |
121 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin Sharp | |
122 | David Boucher (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
123 | Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar | |
124 | Frederic Brun (Fra) BigMat - Auber 94 | |
125 | Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team Netapp - Endura | |
126 | Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team Netapp - Endura | |
127 | Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
128 | Maxime Renault (Fra) BigMat - Auber 97 | |
129 | Flavien Dassonville (Fra) BigMat - Auber 95 | |
130 | Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano | 0:12:27 |
131 | Kenneth Van Bilsen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:12:31 |
132 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Team Netapp - Endura | 0:13:42 |
DNF | Julien Antomarchi (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
DNF | Gregor Muhlberger (Aut) Team Netapp - Endura | |
DNF | Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Team Netapp - Endura | |
DNF | Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team Netapp - Endura | |
DNF | Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
DNF | Clément Saint-Martin (Fra) La Pomme Marseille | |
DNF | Alo Jakin (Est) BigMat - Auber 96 | |
DNF | Jean Lou Paiani (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
DNF | Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Bretagne - Seche Environnement | |
DNF | Rudy Kowalski (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
DNF | Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
DNF | Nicolas Dougall (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka | |
DNF | Romain Pillon (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
DNF | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
DNF | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
DNF | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin Sharp | |
DNF | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Garmin Sharp | |
DNF | Jimmy Raibaud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
DNF | Luke Davison (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
DNF | Rasmus Guldhammer (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
DNF | Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano | |
DNF | Thierry Hupond (Fra) Team Giant-Shimano | |
DNF | Songezo Jim (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka | |
DNF | Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale |

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