Paris – Bourges 2015 Preview
By David Hunter
The peloton continues in France, for the last races in the European calendar. This time, it’s the 65th edition of Paris-Bourges, with a lot of riders having one eye on Sunday and Paris-Tours. This is an excellent preparation race.
The weather is not always great at this time of year, but we are lucky and the riders should enjoy a dry day, with a little sunshine.
This is a race that is usually dominated by the sprinters, but it does provide others with a chance. We have a series of short climbs, from 90km to 150km, before a downhill run for home. The climbs aren’t the hardest, so the sprinters do survive but if they right group escapes, it’s hard to bring them back.
John Degenkolb is the two-time defending champion, but he’s not back for number three. That opens the door for a number of other sprinters and we have plenty here.
Samuel Dumoulin – Not a great season for the wee man. Won the Drome Classic and took 2nd in a stage of the Dauphine, but has slid into obscurity. Would be a major surprise to see him turn it round at the very end of the season.
Giacomo Nizzolo – Good year for the Italian. Won the red jersey in the Giro, but didn’t take a win. He has been encouraged by his consistency but frustrated by his lack of wins. His only success was GP Nobili, back in March. He was great in Tre Valli, but had an off day in Piemonte. His team will back him 100%, but do have Van Poppel if Nizzolo struggles. He has to be considered as one of the big favourites for the race.
Arnaud Demare – Dear, oh dear. His 2015 has been nothing short of a nightmare. FDJ decided to keep him, not Bouhanni, and he hasn’t repaid them. Two wins in the Belgian Tour are his only successes, but he does perform well at this point of the season. The team are backing him, arriving with Delage and Reza to guide him into the right position. He does need to repay his employers and provide himself with some hope for the forthcoming Winter period.
Matti Breschel – About to end his 3 year relationship with Saxo and head to Cannondale-Garmin. Realistically, he has a much better chance of winning Paris-Tours. If in a good position, he could finish in the top 5, but more like the top 10.
Nacer Bouhanni – It’s been hard to evaluate how 2015 has been for Bouhanni, as he keeps crashing! The big sprinters like to compare themselves against the other big sprinters. Crashing out of the Tour de France and Vuelta have denied us the opportunity to see the Frenchman against the big names of sprinting. Yes, he did win two stages of the Dauphine, but that was against a tired Modolo. There have been many positives signs from Bouhanni and I think that he’s ready to step up to the elite tier of sprinters. Ending the season with a bang would help, just not the bang of him hitting the deck again! How he has recovered from his crash in the Vendee will be important, but he should be the man to beat here. In his absence, Christophe Laporte won on Sunday. That was an amazing result and Bouhanni will have the best sprint train here.
Yauheni Hutarovich – Just when you think he’s on the decline, he pops up with a surprise result. He certainly falls into the “do not write off” category of riders. He was 2nd in the Vendee and has signed up for another year with the French team. A win would be a massive surprise, but is capable of making the podium.
Sam Bennett – Ah, Sammy boy! Gained the respect of the cycling world for hauling his ass around the Tour de France. Struggling with illness, he battled all the way to stage 17. Such a shame he couldn’t complete the race. Despite the horrible experience, he left the race with strong legs. He beat Kristoff in the Arctic Race of Norway and was in a great position to win in Alberta, until everyone went the wrong way! He surprised most people with a dogged display in the World Championships, but you shouldn’t be surprised by the young Irishman. He arrives in France looking to compete in both races and a win is certainly a big possibility. Crucially, he has a good train with him, sadly, not always the case. He has Archbold, Dempster, Schillinger, Schorn and Thwaites. Archbold, “The Flying Mullet”, is crucial to his success. The Kiwi is the fastest lead-out man here and if he can survive the whole race, Bennett will be confident of beating Bouhanni. Without Archbold, he’ll have to start behind Bouhanni and passing him is difficult.
Roy Jans – Seems to be hitting some serious form. In 5 of his last 7 races, he has finished in the top 6. He was unlucky in Brussels as it looked like he actually beat Groenewegen. He doesn’t reallly arrive with a recognised train, as Wanty never really seem to believe in him. They tend to fill their team with riders only capable of a solo success, he should really be getting annoyed at this. I’d like to see what he was capable of with a full team behind him. Only then, can you really judge a sprinter.
The smaller teams will hope for a surprise, but with the quality of sprinters, it’s going to be very hard. One rider I would like to point out is Andrea Pasqualon. The Italian rides for Roth Skoda, a team hopeful of stepping up to Pro Conti in 2016. He has been with Lampre, Colnago and Bardiani in the past. He is a very fast sprinter, who doesn’t mind some hills. At home in the Italian races, his recent form is good with two 6th places in Agostoni and Marco Pantani. This race is not as selective as he would like, so he’ll be looking at a top 10 finish, but if you like supporting a “smaller” rider, then get behind him. You’ll be seeing a lot more of him in 2016.
Prediction Time
Should really be Bouhanni v Demare v Bennett v Nizzolo. If he has recovered, Bouhanni is the fastest of these boys and should take the win. However, if the Mullet is really flying, watch out for the boy from Ireland.
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