Dutch cyclist Dylan van Barle won the prestigious Paris-Rube cycling race on Sunday, while Latvian Toms Skujiņš did not finish among the leading athletes.
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In a so-called “northern hell” and “classic queen” bike ride, athletes measured 257.2 kilometers on Sunday, overcoming a total of less than 55 kilometers of 30 pavement sections. Wet weather and mud made it difficult to cover the distance last autumn, but this spring the race took place in sunny and warm weather.
The first turn in the race was after about 50 kilometers, when the peleton split into two groups, playing the role of a crosswind. The Ineos Grenadiers team took the lead in the front group, while some of the competition’s favorites remained in the second group, such as Belgium’s Vouts van Vists and Alpecin-Fenix. Skujiņš was also in the second group, while his team “Trek-Segaredo” was chased by several cyclists of this unit.
Drivers of the leading group did not escape from falls and torn tires in the pavement sectors. The heavy pavement sections also introduced the composition of the correction groups, splitting them and later forming new ones.
Much of the last 100 kilometers were covered by three cyclists: Slovenian Bahrain Victorious, Belgian Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert and French Arkea-Samsic. The first to drop out of the trio was Pischon, who later joined a group of engines that included former barrel van Barle, van Arth, Swiss Stephen Kings (“Groupama-FDJ”), and van der Paul.
Van Arts used a lot of effort to return to the catcher group about 38 kilometers before the finish line, as he had to change his bike due to a flat tire. About 30 kilometers before the finish, only Devrndt was in control of the race, while Mohorich had joined the drivers, but later, with the Belgian “Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl” and van Barley, he joined again.
About 21 kilometers before the end of the race, a trio of followers was formed, consisting of van Arth, Kings and Jasper Steeven of Belgium, but the Trek-Segafredo continued to face adversity and Steeven’s bike had a flat tire.
About 17 kilometers before the finish, van Bārle tried his luck in the solo race, and his lead continued to grow and lasted more than a minute. Of the following cyclists, the fight for the podium ended the fastest for Lamparta, who collided with an inattentive spectator in the pavement and experienced a heavy fall, retreating to the third group.
Van Barl Rube reached the cycling track in proud solitude and crossed the finish line after five hours and 37 minutes in the distance – the fastest in the history of the race. Van Arth was second in the finish line, beating King, Devrindt and Mohorich, losing one minute and 47 seconds to the four-time winner.
Italian Bonnie Bonnie (“Bahrain – Victorious”), who won the race last October, did not start cycling in Paris-Rube this year because of health problems in March and has not yet returned to the highway.
In 2001, Roman Vainstein won third place in this bike ride.
