Jelle Wallays claims second Paris-Tours title with solo attack

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Jelle Wallays romped to victory in Tours to close out the 2019 season in style, repeating the win he first secured back in 2014.

The French one-day race featured nine gravel sectors towards the pointy end of the 217 kilometer journey from Chartres to Tours. As the pack arrived at the succession of bumpier sectors, Sunweb’s Soren Kragh Andersen was solo off the front, and Wallays put in a big surge to bridge up to the Dane with over 50 kilometers to go.

The chase group behind failed to bring him back in as Wallays finished with 30 seconds to spare. Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Energie) and Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) had gone off the front of the chase group with 5km remaining, a fruitless attempt to bring back Wallays.

“I had a good feeling from the beginning and this week,” Wallays said. “I gave it all and I had a happy ending.

“It’s a totally different race now with the off-roads. The first time I won was in the early breakaway with Tommy Voeckler and we had tail winds!

“This time it was head winds and then it turned as well. Totally different.”

Paris-Tours 2019 results:

1Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal)

5:34:20

2Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Energie)

+29”

3Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale)

+30”

4Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ)

+36”

5Amaury Capiot (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise)

+49”

6Aime De Gendt (Wanty-Gobert)

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7Lars Bak (Dimension Data)

+51”

8Bert De Backer (Vital Concept-B&B Hotels)

+53”

9Kevyn Ista (Wallonie Bruxelles)

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10Julien Vermote (Dimension Data)

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