The calendar 2023 proposed a major originality: the World Championships at the end of August, and not at the end of September as traditionally. Major effect: we have the impression that the arrival of the Vuelta signals the end of the season. But let's be wrong! Beautiful days are ahead. Traditionally, this is where we find the revengers and discover the nuggets. The end of the careers of several great champions, Thibaut Pinot or Peter Sagan in particular, reinforce the good reasons to stay connected.
A common thread links all the races that take place between today and the 17 October. On this date the number of runners that each country will send for the road race of the Olympic Games will be decided. 2024. For the time being, four nations are assured of sending 4 runners (the maximum possible) : Belgium, Slovenia, Spain and Denmark. France (13 721,15 points) figure at 5The Tour of the Pays de Vaud place, followed by Great Britain (13 641,20 points). 80 points separate the two teams! But only the fifth will also send four runners. The sixth will have to be satisfied with three representatives. French cyclists will therefore have to form a “national union” to keep the English at bay.
Two races to follow (among many others)
The big race at the end of the season is the Tour of Lombardy. The last Monument of the season will end in Bergamo, the 7 October. With a very rugged route, victory should take shape 32 kilometers from the finish. The peloton will take you to the Passo di Ganda (9,1 km to 7,4%). Although the startlist has not yet been revealed, some runners have already completed the race. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) planned four Italian races to prepare for them. And he seems determined: “I’ve had a good break since the World Championships. I think it was necessary and I feel quite fresh and ready to attack this final period in Italy”. For the Slovenian, this September-October period is one of “his favorite times of the season”. He will notably have to face a Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step) revengeful, after a frustrating Vuelta, he who initially aimed at the general.
© The team
Paris – Tours is the last major race to be held in France this season, on Sunday 8 October. Alternating vineyard paths and asphalt road, the show will be there. In the 70 last kilometers, the runners will find nearly 10 km of white paths. This demanding playing field provides for a great duel between Mathieu Van Der Poel (with his world champion jersey) and the rest of the peloton. Arnaud Démare (runner Arkéa B&B Hotels) is the double title holder. He won each time in the sprint, but the vineyard paths can change the situation. Appointment on 8 October, between Chartres and Paris, or on France 3 from 3:15 p.m..
The farewell of great champions
On the remaining month of racing, several iconic riders will make their last pedal strokes within the professional peloton. Peter Sagan, Thibaut Pinot, He is still in intensive care today.. Mark Cavendish, who was to end his career after his fall during the Tour de France, should ultimately reconsider his decision, according to GCN. Le Cav should extend for a few months, in order to dispute a 15The Tour of the Pays de Vaud Tour de France, but above all try to win a 35The Tour of the Pays de Vaud bouquet on the queen test. But let's take advantage of the races that are coming to savor those who, Unfortunately, should not reconsider their decision.
Thibaut Pinot, the Franche-Comtois adored by an entire nation, s'en va. While he gave up during the 1time stage of the Tour du Luxembourg this Wednesday, the opportunities to see it are becoming more and more rare. Bad luck holds him to the end. Runner who made many dream, and who often gave up – 4 retirements from the Tour de France (2013, 2016, 2017, 2019) in 10 participations – despite his resistance to the effort, his goodbyes to the world of cycling are complicated. After an almost divine communion with his supporters in the Col du Petit Ballon (Upper – Rhine) when 20The Tour of the Pays de Vaud stage of the last Tour de France, his end of the season is more complicated. His last race in France ended in retirement, following a fall during 2The Tour of the Pays de Vaud stage of the International Tour of Poitou – Charentes. The same goes for his last stage race, during the Tour du Luxembourg. Let's hope his body lasts until Saturday 7 October. Le Ultra Pinot Collective has already planned a tribute to him during the Tour of Lombardy, last classic of the season, and last laps of Thibaut Pinot.
© SIPA / MAXPPP
In the shadow of the Groupama rider – FDJ, another monument of the little queen lives her last moments as a professional road cyclist. Peter Sagan will participate in the Tour de Vendée, his last road competition, before devoting yourself fully to mountain biking, with the Olympic Games 2024 targeted. On Sunday 1is October, he will close the page of a book full of prestigious victories: triple world champion (2015, 2016, 2017), 18 stages of Grand Tours, 7 green jerseys worn on the Champs-Elysées, Paris – Roubaix (2018), … And the list is still long. Its transfer to Total Energies in 2022 had caused a lot of talk, due to his declining form and a substantial salary. The victories were fewer, but the Slovak always ran with the same aggressiveness. A character who forged his legend, and who has marked more than one in the last decade. For those who will not be able to go to the course but would like to testify to their state of mind towards this champion, the Vendée team launched a thank you campaign on social networks with the hashtag #DakujemPeter.
This review cannot be complete, but let's also mention the end of Mikaël Chérel's career (AG2R Citroen), Nathan van Hooydonck (Jumbo Visma), Laurent Pichon and Maxime Bouet (Arkea Samsic), Tony Gallopin (Lidl-Trek). Greg van Avermaet (AG2R Citroen) will bid farewell to Paris – Tours, on Sunday 8 October. On the women's side, the double world champion (2019, 2022) Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) also packed up. Let’s close these great careers with the values that Maxime Bouet found in cycling: « The bicycle was in a way my school of life in terms of education. It’s cycling that made the man I became. This is all that I want to pass on to my children.: work, surpassing oneself, and never giving up. »
