Laporte shows glimpses of his former self, but Trentin outsprints him in a thrilling edition of Paris–Tours

In the 119th edition of Paris-Tours, Visma | Lease a Bike seemed to be in control. The Dutch team had a lot of dangerous riders at the start, with Olav Kooij, Matthew Brennan, defending champion Laporte, Victor Campenaerts, and Dylan van Baarle.

The organizers had mapped out a route of no less than 211 kilometers from the starting point in Chartres. The opening phase was uneventful, allowing Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ), Noah Knight (Cofidis), Hartthijs de Vries (Unibet Tietema Rockets), and Kenny Molly (Van Rysel Roubaix) to break away.

In the end, it was not to be a breakaway of four, as Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty) also managed to break away. So we ended up with an early breakaway of six riders, and the peloton had had enough. It allowed the six to build up a lead of up to about four minutes.

After Knight dropped out at the front, the pace behind him skyrocketed. The lead of the five breakaway riders quickly diminished, and with 100 kilometers to go, we had a peloton of only 35 riders. Not much later, the first climb and the first unpaved section appeared. The final stage had begun!

A flat tire brought Labrosse's adventure in the early breakaway to a premature end. Not much later, an acceleration by his team, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, meant the end of the breakaway. At that point, the unpaved sections followed in rapid succession, causing flat tires for Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) and Kooij.

It was Lapeira who attacked 35 kilometers from the finish, and his compatriot Gruel joined the Frenchman. The pair quickly built up a lead of three-quarters of a minute, and it was only after a counterattack behind them that the gap narrowed again.

It was Laporte who accelerated, creating a strong group of pursuers. The Frenchman was joined by Mathias Vacek, Albert Withen Philipsen (both Lidl-Trek), Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), and Matteo Trentin (Tudor). The five riders rode for a long time, about eighteen seconds behind Lapeira and Gruel. The peloton followed twenty seconds behind the chasing group.

Once again, it was Laporte who accelerated, and so the four riders—after dropping Vacek—got closer and closer, but the stubborn Gruel and the strong Lapeira continued to ride well together. For (what was left of) the peloton, it seemed that it was no longer going to happen, as they faced a 45-second gap to the leading duo with five kilometers to go.

Under the banner, Lapeira and Gruel started gambling, and so the four riders caught up with the leaders after all. They gambled and lost, as it turned out. It was Trentin who won the sprint, after Bissegger had pulled for his teammate Lapeira. Laporte was unable to reward a busy day with a victory, but on Sunday, we certainly saw the Laporte we know from previous years.