Janie Waldrop • Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12:15 PM
The Circuit Franco-Belge is on the menu in Belgium on Thursday. The organization has provided a nice field of participants, including Arnaud De Lie, Kasper Asgreen, Biniam Girmay, Victor Campenaerts and Dylan Teuns. A bunch sprint, a small group sprint or a solo winner, everything is possible. CyclingFlits looks ahead!
History
1924 is the year in which the Circuit Franco-Belge was organized for the first time. In the early years of the race, the race was known as a Belgian-French affair, because national borders were often crossed. At that time it was also a multi-day competition, which – as you know – is no longer the case today.
During the Second World War the Circuit Franco-Belge could not take place. Even after the end of WWII, the competition was not organized for a while. Partly because of this, we are ‘only’ ready for the eighty-first edition this year.
We don’t really see any big names in the first decades. We must mention that Julien Vervaecke, Cyriel Van Overberghe and Alfons Ghesquière were able to triumph twice, which is the most victories to date. They now share that record with the two riders; the Swiss Benno Wiss and the fast Australian Robbie McEwen.
Groenewegen and Naesen – photo: Cor Vos
McEwen ushered in a new era of the Circuit Franco-Belge. After the turn of the century, more flatter stages were chosen in the stage race. But a real big change only came in 2016, when the organization chose to switch to a one-day race. That edition immediately caused fireworks. Dylan Groenewegen beat Oliver Naesen, but the Dutchman deviated particularly hard from his line. “I already thought he was retarded, but now it’s a complete bummer,” Naesen said afterwards Sporza.
We haven’t mentioned it yet, but the Circuit Franco-Belge has been replaced as a name for a long time. From 2012 to 2021 it was the Eurométropole Tour.
Last ten winners Circuit Franco-Belge
2022: Alexander Kristoff
2021: Fabio Jakobsen
2020: Not held due to the corona crisis
2019: Piet Allegaert
2018: Mads Pedersen
2017: Daniel McLay
2016: Dylan Groenewegen
2015: Alexis Gougeard
2014: Arnaud Démare
2013: Jens Debusschere
Latest edition
Timo de Jong, Tim Naberman, Tom Sexton and Ayco Bastiaens colored the first hours of the match, but in the end the four escapees did not play a significant role in the final. Due to the tight pace in that final, many pure sprinters had to step aside. The race then exploded on the Four à Chaux, where Victor Campenaerts crossed to Loïc Vliegen and Filippo Baroncini, who rode ahead of the peloton.
However, the trio did not stay at the head of the race for long. Everything came together again and a small peloton entered the final lap. A new group of three drove away from there. This time Alexander Kristoff, Dries Van Gestel and Jasper De Buyst were the attacking riders. On the steep Bois de Breucq they were joined by Campenaerts, who was again able to drive to the head of the race with a strong attack.
photo: Cor Vos
The Belgian was clearly feeling great, because he went up and over the trio. Van Gestel was able to join in, Kristoff cracked. Cracking, but not breaking, because the Norwegian was able to join again. The same applied to De Buyst, who benefited from a moment of silence. This allowed the four leaders to sprint for the win. Campenaerts tried with a late lunge, but Kristoff closed the gap and made it in a sprint of the dying swans. Van Gestel and Campenaerts were allowed on the podium.
Result Circuit Franco-Belge 2022
1. Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert)
2. Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) in bt
3. Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) in bt
4. Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal) at 13s
5. Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) op 15s
Course
The circuit of the Circuit Franco-Belge has been adjusted again this year. First of all, the course has become longer. While 175 kilometers were driven last year, it is now 190 kilometers. The start will again be in Tournai, but the finish will no longer be in La Louvière. This year it is located in Mont-de-l’Enclus, a village not far from Ronse.
After the start in Tournai, the riders head north, after which the Jubaru Cross Pass (1.5 km at 5.2%) will appear. This slope is an ideal place for the emergence of an early flight. The peloton then heads towards the local round via Molenbaix, Celles and Escanaflles.
After a first passage at the finish, the riders will complete an alternative local lap, after which they will pass the finish for the second time after 80 kilometers. Then the real work begins and they start the local circuit, which they have to complete a total of six times.
Central to that round are the Cote du Trieu (1.2 km at 7.4%) and the Horlitin coast (1 km at 5.9%). These slopes are perfect for shooting a cartouche and the many repetitions will certainly count towards the end. The top of the last climb is more than 10 kilometers from the finish. Although the final kilometer is still quite steep.
Thursday September 28: Tournai – Mont-de-l’Enclus (190.6km)
Start: 1:10 p.m
Finish: between 5:20 PM and 5:45 PM
Favorites
The organization of the Circuit Franco-Belge has provided a nice list of participants, at least if we can believe the preliminary version. The top favorite is without a doubt Arnaud De Lie, who proved to be in top form last Sunday. Lotto Dstny’s Belgian made an impression at the European Championships by setting up a particularly impressive lead-out in support of Wout van Aert. De Lie will have a course tailored to his needs on Thursday.
De Lie also has the luxury of being able to finish it in several ways. Waiting for the sprint is certainly an option, but so is racing aggressively. In addition, Lotto Dstny has several riders who can opt for the offensive. So are slobs Victor Campenaerts, Florian Vermeersch, Maxim Van Gils and Alec Segaert start. An impressive selection.
After his lead-out, De Lie finished fourth on the VAM mountain – photo: Cor Vos
At Soudal Quick-Step they can also count on more than one leader. It looks like the advanced man Kasper Asgreen to be. Based purely on class, the Dane should certainly be in contention for the win, but Asgreen’s form still remains to be seen. Yes, he recently won a stage in the Tour of Slovakia, but the field of participants was not that impressive there either. In addition to Asgreen, we are also looking at Yves Lampaert, Florian Sénéchal and Stan Van Tricht in the Belgian team.
However, with many strong classic riders at the start and the lack of world-class sprinters, a bunch sprint seems very unlikely. Someone like Bryan Coquard seems to have a difficult time, but his teammate Axel Zingle not. He gets a kick out of these kinds of matches. Zingle, who rides for the French Cofidis, has already won similar races in the past. That’s because he can handle a tough day and has fast legs.
Will we see Asgreen laughing on stage on Thursday? – photo: Cor Vos
Mike Teunissen is someone to keep an eye on on Thursday. The Dutchman proved to be in good shape at the European Championships by going deep into the final and supporting Olav Kooij. Teunissen recently also won a stage in the Renewi Tour because of his good legs, but especially because of his insight into the race. Intermarché-Circus-Wanty still has contenders for victory, because Biniam Girmay and Georg Zimmermann will also participate.
Jasper Stuyven seems to be claiming leadership at Lidl-Trek. The Belgian also rode a good European Championship (and World Cup), but mainly had bad luck in the other one-day races. Is everything going well for the Leuven resident of Lidl-Trek? We also expect a lot from the strong Norwegian Rasmus Tiller and his teammate and compatriot Tobias Halland Johannessen. Both riders have been in excellent form all season and Tiller in particular can sometimes be very hard on this course.
Will Jasper Philipsen rush to his fifteenth victory of the season on Thursday? – photo: Cor Vos
Alpecin-Deceuninck was actually going to start here with Mathieu van der Poel, but the world champion decided to end his road campaign after last Sunday’s Olympic MTB test event in Paris. His replacement for next Thursday? Jasper Philipsen. The strong sprinter is certainly one of the favorites for victory. His form is still good, despite a tough season. Last Sunday, Philipsen, who can still become the victor of 2023, was the best in Paris-Chauny.
The last team we should mention is Israel-Premier Tech. Four names stand out in the selection: Dylan Teuns, Corbin Strong, Krists Neilands and Jens Reynders. We especially take Teuns into account, who rode to third place in the queen stage in the Tour of Luxembourg. In mid-September he also finished second in the GP de Wallonie behind Gonzalo Serrano. If Teuns has managed to continue his form, he will not be far from victory.
Update: Dylan Teuns is not part of the final selection of Israel-Premier Tech.
Teunissen outsmarted his fellow escapees in the Renewi Tour – photo: Cor Vos
There are also plenty of outsiders. We mention a number of riders: Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Amaury Capiot (Arkéa-Samsic), Biniyam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), the retiring Greg Van Avermaet, Oliver Naesen, Marc Sarreau (AG2R Citroën), Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek), Anthony Turgis, Dries Van Gestel and Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies) .
Favorites according to WielerFlits
**** Arnaud De Lie
*** Jasper Philipsen, Corbin Strong
** Rasmus Tiller, Mike Teunissen, Kasper Asgreen
* Victor Campenaerts, Axel Zingle, Florian Vermeersch, Biniam Girmay
Website organization
Participants list (ProCyclingStats)
Weather and TV
The riders should not take rain into account on Thursday. The chance of precipitation is, according to Weeronline, 0%. No rain, but wind. A Beaufort of 4 is predicted, something that could certainly have an influence on the course of the price. Temperatures will hover around 20 degrees Celsius.
The Circuit Franco Belge can be followed live via Eurosport 1. The broadcast does not start until 4.45 pm. If you want to watch earlier, you can visit the online channels Eurosport.nl/Discovery+/GCN+ from 3:15 PM. For more information you can always visit our TV guide Cycling on TV.
2023-09-28 11:27:57
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