Euro racing roundup: Pogačar, Kopecky impress, Jumbo goes 1-2-3
Plenty of action this weekend
Photo by:
Sirotti
Tadej Pogačar soloed 50 km to his first Strade Bianche victory on Saturday. It was the third round of the 2022 WorldTour, the UAE Tour of Round 1 also going to Pogačar, and the second one-day race. Pogačar is the first Tour de France champion to take the Strade Bianche. In the women’s race, Lotte Kopecky (Belgium/SD Worx) stopped two-time winner Annemiek van Vleuten’s early-season winning streak, outsprinting the Dutch rider in the finale.
In France, only three days after UAE-Emirates earned the first three places at Trofeo Laigueglia, Jumbo-Visma swept Sunday’s opening stage of the 80th edition of Paris-Nice, also known as The Race to the Sun.
Men’s Strade Bianche
Pogačar became the first Tour de France champion to take the Strade Bianche. The winners of the 14th and 15th editions over the last two seasons, Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, were absent. 2019 winner Julian Alaphilippe survived a wild crash but wouldn’t crack the top-50. The top Canadian was Alex Cataford in 77th.
Watch Julian Alaphilippe take a flying front flip in huge Strade Bianche crash
Immediately from the gun a breakaway sprang away, finding 2:50 before the first sector of gravel. By the taxing fifth sector, nine fugitives were 3:00 up the road. Brutal crosswinds in Sector 5 caused a big crash in the peloton that took down Alaphilippe and Pogačar and caused Michael Matthews, Tiejs Benoot and a dozen other riders to abandon.
With 43 km to race, the Tour de France champion’s lead over the peloton was 1:09, and Rodriguez was +0:34. The gap stayed the same over the next five kilometers. Rodriguez was absorbed with 24 km remaining.
Sector 9 brought the Slovenian closer. Alaphilippe was having problems going with the accelerations in the chase. A quintet of pursuers containing Alejandro Valverde distinguished itself. Pogačar completed the penultimate sector, 18 km to go, with a minute’s lead and Kasper Asgreen now in the Rodriguez role as lone chaser. Valverde latched onto the Dane before they were joined by Attila Valter, Pello Bilbao, Wellens and a couple of others. Valverde was runner-up and Asgreen rounded out the peloton.
2022 Strade Bianche
1) Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia/UAE-Emirates) 4:47:49
2) Alejandro Valverde (Spain/Movistar) +0:37
3) Kasper Asgreen (Denmark/Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl) +0:46
77) Alexander Cataford (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +13:36
Women’s Strade Bianche
Except for a 49-km loop that contained nearly 20 km of sterrati, the women’s 136-km course in Tuscany was the same as the men’s, with the stiff ramps and tricky descents of Sector 5 Lucignano d’Asso and the concluding 16-percent climb to the historic Piazzo del Campo in Siena.
There were four Canadians racing: Leah Kirchman of Team DSM, Magdeleine Vallieres and Sara Poidevin of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB and Olivia Baril of Valcar-Travel & Service. Baril was top Canadian last year.
Fifteen riders headed into the final 15 km. Van den Broek-Blaak did a flyer just before the last sector, Le Tolfe. Her SD Worx team had the numbers in the front group. Van Vleuten hit the gas and only Kopecky was able to match her.
Niewiadoma and Vos were among the main chasers. Two SD Worx riders were able to sit in. The duo was hauled back with 7.7 km to ride. SD Worx’s Ashleigh Moolman Pasio immediately made a dig before teammate Demi Vollering tried her luck. Van Vleuten kept closing.
It would come down to the Piazzo del Campo climb. Grace Brown (Australia/(FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) led onto the climb. Van Vleuten took up the reins. Kopecky laboured to keep the Dutch rider’s wheel. Kopecky kept her line going into the final curve and then out-lasted the two-time champion.
2022 Strade Bianche
1) Lotte Kopecky (Belgium/SD Worx) 3:49:13
2) Annemiek van Vleuten (The Netherlands/Movistar) s.t.
3) Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (South Africa/SD Worx) +0:10
31) Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada/EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) +4:16
Paris-Nice Stage 1
Only three days after UAE-Emirates earned the first three places at Trofeo Laigueglia, Jumbo-Visma swept Sunday’s opening stage of the 80th edition of Paris-Nice, also known as The Race to the Sun. New signing Christophe Laporte claimed the win and Primož Roglič put at least 30 seconds into all his GC rivals by coming runner-up. Hugo Houle was top Canadian in 20th.
The first breakaway of 2022 Paris-Nice was only a duo, and Matthew Holmes of Lotto-Soudal made sure to grab all the KOM points he could atop Cat. 3 Côte de Vétheuil and Côte de la route des Crêtes. Alpecin-Fenix, Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl and Ineos all contributed to the chase and brought back the fugitives early, with 73 km to go.
The early catch was part of a nervousness in the peloton with the pace very high in anticipation of crosswinds. Ineos and AG2R-Citroën tried to split the field and then the tempo relented with 60 km to race. Groupama-FDJ and Jumbo-Visma joined in on powering the bunch towards the day’s first intermediate sprint and the first climb of Côte de Breuil-Bois-Robert.
Jumbo-Visma and UAE-Emirates worked to lasso the breakaway before Breuil-Bois-Robert II. Many riders dribbled out the back. On the climb Jumbo-Visma kept up the pressure. Wout Van Aert, Roglič and Laporte took off with Zdenek Stybar, but only the three Jumbo-Visma riders crested together.
With 3 km to ride, the yellow and black clad trio had 15 seconds. There was a lot of back slapping in the final 100 metres, but it would be Laporte who took the win. Fourth place Pierre Latour finished 19 seconds later.
Monday’s stage is more traditional sprinters’ fare.
2022 Paris-Nice Stage 1
1) Christophe Laporte (France/Jumbo-Visma) 3:48:28
2) Primož Roglič (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) +0:04
3) Wout Van Aert (Beligum/Jumbo-Visma) +0:06
20) Hugo Houle (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +0:32
