Team Sunweb’s Søren Kragh Andersen displayed his dominance at Paris-Tours today, forcing a selection with 30 kilometres to go and later going solo to take the race win.
When the Dane attacked, only Niki Terpstra (Quick Step Floors) was able to respond. The pair worked well together before being joined by Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R).
With eleven kilometres remaining, Kragh Andersen accelerated and built a 20-second gap which Terpstra and Cosnefroy were unable to close. 25 seconds after Kragh Andersen crossed the finish line on Avenue de Grammont, Terpstra outsprinted the young Frenchman to take second.
Kragh Andersen said: “I really wanted this win, but I didn’t believe it was possible. I was really focused on today so I’m super happy with the outcome. The parcours were awesome, I loved it. It’s my first classic-style win and I couldn’t be happier. I didn’t stop to enjoy it until 100 metres to go, the last 10 kilometres were super hard but it was completely worth it.
“The kind of guys I’ve beat here is really awesome and I’m surprised I was able to do it. It really is the best of the best here so this win is crazy.”
Team Sunweb coach Marc Reef added: “Our goal today was to go with Søren for a result and to focus on being together during the race ahead of the difficult moments. As a team we did a great race, we were together all of the time, communicated really well and brought Søren into a good position for him to attack. It was a very good performance from the team and an incredible ride from Søren to finish it off with a win like this.”
