Paris–Tours

Template:Short description Template:Template other Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, at Le Gault-du-Perche. Historically, it is known as a "Sprinters' Classic" because it frequently ends in a bunch sprint at the finish, in Tours. Since 2018, the course has featured gravel sectors in vineyards near Tours.

For several decades the race arrived on the 2.7 km long Avenue de Grammont, one of cycling's best-known finishing straits, particularly renowned among sprinters. Since 2011 the finish was moved to a different location because a new tram line was built on the Avenue de Grammont.

History

Paris–Tours was first run for amateurs in 1896, making it one of the oldest cycling races in the world. It was organised by the magazine Paris-Vélo, which described that edition won by Eugène Prévost as, "A crazy, unheard of, unhoped for success". It was five years before the race was run again and a further five years (1906) before it became an annual event for professionals, with L'Auto as organiser. L’Auto ran the Tour de France (TDF) and Paris–Tours is still run by the Tour organiser, Amaury Sport Organisation.

The race was part of the UCI Road World Cup from 1989 to 2004, and the UCI ProTour from 2005 to 2007. From 2008 to 2019 it was part of the UCI Europe Tour before joining the UCI ProSeries in 2020.

File:Paris-Tours Map (M. Knapton).jpg

Paris–Tours now starts in Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines 50km south-west of Paris, runs south-west towards Tours crossing the Loire at Amboise, then over several small climbs before the finish on the Avenue de Grammont in Tours

The route

Paris–Tours has had many route changes although the distance has remained about 250 km. The start was moved out of Paris in the early days, first to Versailles, then to at Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines. Since 2009, the route has started in the Department of Eure-et-Loir. A loop through Chinon was added between 1919 and 1926 to make the approach to Tours hilly lanes on the south bank of the Loire and the total distance 342 km. Sprinters continued to dominate and in 1959 the organisers added three ascents of the Alouette Hill. It made little difference.

In 1965 dérailleurs were banned and riders were limited to two gears. The race was won by Dutch first-year professional Gerben Karstens who chose 53/16 and 53/15, covering 246 km at a record 45.029 km/h. The experiment was judged a failure when the 1966 race ended the same way as 1964.

The course was reversed and the route constantly changed between 1974 and 1987. It was sometimes known as the Grand Prix d'Automne and sometimes by the names of the start and finish towns. For many the event lost character as the race was run between Tours and Versailles (1974–75) Blois and Chaville (1976–77 and 1979–84), Blois to Autodrome de Montlhéry (1978) and Créteil to Chaville (1985–87). In 1988 the race reverted to its original Paris–Tours route.

The wind can often be hostile; in 1988 Peter Pieters averaged just 34kmh, slowest for 57 years. However, Paris–Tours becomes the fastest classic when the wind is behind the riders, Óscar Freire winning in 2010 at 47.730kmh. It gave him the Ruban Jaune or "Yellow Riband" for the fastest speed in a classic, in fact the Ruban Jaune has been awarded nine times (as of 2016) to riders winning Paris–Tours and posting the fastest time in a professional race.

The route for the 2018 edition of the race was changed radically with the race starting in Chartres and incorporating 12.5 kilometres' of unpaved gravel tracks inside the final 60 kilometres as the race winds it way around vineyards in the Tours area. Seven new punchy climbs were also included in the finale of the race which was reduced to a distance of 211 kilometres to compensate for the additional difficulties.

Classic races and riders

The 1921 edition had blizzards. Half the field abandoned in Chartres. The winner, Francis Pélissier, punctured late in the race; his hands frozen, he tore the tyre off the rim with his teeth. Riding on the rim, he caught Eugène Christophe and soloed to the finish. Rik Van Looy won the 1959 race, the first to feature the Alouette Hill. One of the best sprinters of his day, Van Looy dropped two others on the second ascent and won alone.

The record for the most victories is three, held by Gustave Danneels (1934, 1936, 1937), Paul Maye (1941, 1942, 1945), Guido Reybrouck (1964, 1966, 1968) and Erik Zabel (1994, 2003, 2005).

Eddy Merckx never won Paris–Tours; he could have triumphed in 1968 but handed victory to teammate Guido Reybrouck, pulling out of the sprint, to thank him for help earlier in the season. Later, Noël Vantyghem (winner of the 1972 edition) said "Together with Eddy Merckx, I won all classics races that could be won. I won Paris-Tours, he the rest."

Erik Zabel took his first big victory at Paris–Tours in 1994. He won Paris–Tours again in 2003 and 2005. Jacky Durand, Andrea Tafi, Marc Wauters, Richard Virenque, Erik Dekker and Philippe Gilbert (two times) have all won solo or from a small group, denying sprinters a chance. Virenque had just returned from a drugs ban. He broke away with Durand shortly after the start and stayed away despite Durand's dropping back outside Tours.

The Autumn Double

The Autumn Double refers to Paris–Tours and the Giro di Lombardia, considered cycling's most important classics in Autumn, run within a week of each other in October. The races are different – Lombardia is for climbers – making the double difficult. Only four have achieved it in the same year: Belgians Philippe Thys in 1917 and Rik Van Looy in 1959, Dutchman Jo de Roo twice (1962–1963) and Belgian Philippe Gilbert in 2009.

Results

List of winners

File:Avenue grammont 1.jpg

Avenue de Grammont in October, scene of the finish of Paris-Tours until 2010

Year	Country	Rider	Team
1896			individual
1901			individual
1906			Peugeot
1907			Peugeot–Wolber
1908			Peugeot–Wolber
1909			Alcyon–Dunlop
1910			Alcyon–Dunlop
1911			La Française–Diamant
1912			Alcyon–Dunlop
1913			La Française–Diamant
1914			Peugeot–Lion
1917			Peugeot–Wolber
1918			individual
1919			individual
1920			individual
1921			J.B. Louvet
1922			J.B. Louvet
1923			O. Lapize
1924			Alcyon–Dunlop
1925			Wonder
1926			Olympique–Wolber
1927			Olympique–Wolber
1928			J.B. Louvet
1929			Alcyon–Dunlop
1930			Colin–Wolber
1931			Alcyon–Dunlop
1932			France Sport–Dunlop
1933			Colin–Wolber
1934			Alcyon–Dunlop
1935			Alcyon–Dunlop
1936			Alcyon–Dunlop
1937			Alcyon–Dunlop
1938			Alcyon–Dunlop
1939			Dilecta–Wolber
1941			Alcyon–Dunlop
1942			Alcyon–Dunlop
1943			Peugeot–Dunlop
1944			France Sport–Dunlop
1945			Alcyon–Dunlop
1946			Alcyon–Dunlop
1947			Alcyon–Dunlop
1948			Olympia–Dunlop
1949			Bertin–Wolber
1950			Stella–Dunlop
1951			Peugeot–Dunlop
1952			Gitane
1953			Bianchi–Pirelli
1954			Mercier–BP–Hutchinson
1955			La Perle–Hutchinson
1956			Mercier–BP–Hutchinson
1957			Carpano–Coppi
1958			Faema
1959			Faema
1960			Rapha–Gitane
1961			Solo–Terrot–Van Steenbergen
1962			Saint-Raphaël–Helyett–Hutchinson
1963			Saint-Raphaël–Gitane-Geminiani
1964			Flandria–Romeo
1965			Televizier
1966			Romeo–Smith's
1967			Willem II–Gazelle
1968			Faema
1969			Dr.Mann–Grundig
1970			Peugeot–BP–Michelin
1971			Hertekamp–Magniflex–Novy
1972			Novy–Dubble Bubble
1973			Rokado
1974			Filotex
1975			Flandria–Carpenter
1976			Brooklyn
1977			Gan–Mercier
1978			TI–Raleigh
1979			Gan–Mercier
1980			IJsboerke–Warncke
1981			TI–Raleigh
1982			La Redoute
1983			TI–Raleigh
1984			Skil–Sem
1985			Kwantum Hallen
1986			Panasonic
1987			PDM–Concorde
1988			Template:Cycling data TVM
1989			Template:Cycling data RAB
1990			Ariostea
1991			Template:Cycling data TVM
1992			Template:Cycling data LOT
1993			Template:Cycling data MAG
1994			Team Telekom
1995			Gewiss-Ballan
1996			Gewiss-Playbus
1997			Template:Cycling data LOT
1998			Template:Cycling data A2R
1999			Template:Cycling data RAB
2000			Template:Cycling data MAP
2001			Domo–Farm Frites
2002			Template:Cycling data CSC
2003			Team Telekom
2004			Template:Cycling data RAB
2005			Template:Cycling data TMO
2006			Template:Cycling data FDJ
2007			Template:Cycling data MRM
2008			Template:Cycling data FDJ
2009			Template:Cycling data SIL
2010			Template:Cycling data RAB
2011			Template:Cycling data BMC
2012			Template:Cycling data VCD
2013			Template:Cycling data ARG
2014			Template:Cycling data TSV
2015			Template:Cycling data EQS
2016			Template:Cycling data EQS
2017			Template:Cycling data EQS
2018			Template:Cycling data SUN
2019			Template:Cycling data LTS
2020			Template:Cycling data SUN
2021			Template:Cycling data GFC
2022			Template:Cycling data GFC
2023			Template:Cycling data IPT
2024			Template:Cycling data TJV

Multiple winners

Riders in italics are still active

Wins	Rider	Nationality	Editions
3	Gustave Danneels	Template:Flagu	1934 + 1936 + 1937
	Paul Maye	Template:Flagu	1941 + 1942 + 1945
	Guido Reybrouck	Template:Flagu	1964 + 1966 + 1968
	Erik Zabel	Template:Flagu	1994 + 2003 + 2005
2	François Faber		1909 + 1910
	Denis Verschueren	Template:Flagu	1925 + 1928
	Heiri Suter	Template:Flagu	1926 + 1927
	Briek Schotte	Template:Flagu	1946 + 1947
	Jacques Dupont	Template:Flagu	1951 + 1955
	Rik Van Looy	Template:Flagu	1959 + 1967
	Jo de Roo	Template:Flagu	1962 + 1963
	Rik Van Linden	Template:Flagu	1971 + 1973
	Joop Zoetemelk	Template:Flagu	1977 + 1979
	Jan Raas	Template:Flagu	1978 + 1981
	Ludo Peeters	Template:Flagu	1983 + 1985
	Nicola Minali	Template:Flagu	1995 + 1996
	Philippe Gilbert	Template:Flagu	2008 + 2009
	Matteo Trentin	Template:Flagu	2015 + 2017
	Jelle Wallays	Template:Flagu	2014 + 2019
	Arnaud Démare	Template:Flagu	2021 + 2022

Wins per country

Wins	Country
42	Template:Flagu
34	Template:Flagu
12	Template:Flagu
9	Template:Flagu
5	Template:Flagu (including )
4
3	Template:Flagu
1	Template:Flagu Template:Flagu

Tours–Paris

In 1917 and 1918 a race was held from Tours–Paris as well as Paris–Tours.

The winners of Tours–Paris were:

Year	Country	Rider	Team
1917
1918

References

• The Spring Classics: Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races
• European Cycling (The Twenty Greatest Races) – Noel Henderson. Template:ISBN
• A Century of Cycling – William Fotheringham. Template:ISBN