In a spring classics campaign dominated by a couple of big stars, a few others made a name for themselves and caught the eye.
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If there was a draft system where teams could pick neo-pros after the classics then Laurence Pithie would probably be close to the top. The Groupama-FDJ is in his second year (so technically a neo-pro under the rules) and did well last year to win the GP Cholet, the day after finishing second in the Classic Loire Atlantique too.
This year he swapped Coupe de France racing for the World Tour and thrived. Perhaps a surprise winner of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, he backed this up with plenty more results, had a spell in yellow during Paris-Nice and was riding in the breakaway with Wout van Aert in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, then with Mathieu van der Poel in Gent-Wegelgem. If he’d crack each time with the distance he looked the part, elegant on the bike and smooth over the cobbles, including on his way to a top-10 in his Paris-Roubaix debut. It’s an open secret he’s joining Bora-hansgrohe and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of rider he becomes because the choice is on him, there’s a range there to suggest a cobbled classics contender but also beyond for hilly finishes.
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Luca Mozzato probably became famous for finishing second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen but he did win the Koksidje Classic before that, taking the sprint ahead of Dylan Groenewegen and Gerben Thijssen. He’s been quietly tipped here a few times in passing because he’s a crafty sprinter, able to cope with some climbing and has a good sense of positioning. When the B&B team folded he was one of the best riders to sign and Arkéa did well to get him as they need him for his ability to place in all kinds of one day races and score precious points. So far so good but how to progress is the challenge next, he’s not the fastest sprinter and the niche of being a sprinter who can manage a short climb or two is busy with the likes of Jasper Philipsen and Wout van Aert.
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Laurenz Rex (Intermarché-Wanty) won Le Samyn, an important win for his team as it’s their home event but with hindsight even more crucial given the squad have had a relatively discreet classics campaign, Thijssen and Biniam Girmay in the mix but not much more. Rex is a German speaker and just a big rider, when he collided with the sign in Paris-Roubaix they might have had to replace the metalwork. He looks made for Paris-Roubaix and if not a solid bodyguard for the flat.
Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny) has had a great spring, if we discount his crash in Catalunya his worst result was 20th in the Amstel. The rest of the time he’s been in the top-10 and often on the podium, think the Strade Bianche (pictured) and the Flèche Wallonne. Lotto-Dstny still crave a big classics win and he is now up there with Arnaud De Lie as capable of delivering it. Lennert Van Eetvelt gets a mention too, the UAE Tour winner also placed 11th in Strade Bianche, another “Dstny’s child” as he rolls off the Belgian team’s development conveyor belt.
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Matteo Jorgenson doesn’t count as a revelation because he was handy last year. But his rise this year saw Decathlon-Ag2r management getting some flak for not signing him when he was on their feeder team but instead hiring the likes of Paul Lapeira instead. Jorgenson wanted to turn pro right away but they wanted him to do another year in the U23s so he went to Movistar. Anyway Lapeira came good this spring. First he bettered Pithie’s second and first places in the Loire-Cholet weekend last year with two wins, then took a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country. A slender rider he packs a mean sprint and seeing him on the attack in the Amstel this year showed depth as well.
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It’s not been a spring to write home about for Visma-Lease a Bike, if they did it might be to ask for more bandages. Still they’ve had wins, we’re comparing results to expectations. Tim van Dijcke and Mick van Dijke both had a solid classics campaign. As twins they’re hard to differentiate, and if Mick emerged from the Arenberg forest in the company of Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen it was because he didn’t puncture while Tim did.
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Joseph Blackmore (IPT Development) gets a mention in passing for his ride in the Brabantse Pijl, promoted to the IPT team for a day he looked as strong as leader Dylan Teuns. The Londoner will join the main team next year, logical but also a surprise that other teams didn’t get there first as he’s been winning plenty outside of the classics, like the Tour of Rwanda
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19 year old Jan Christen had been on the the longest contracts at UAE until Isaac Del Toro signed a deal taking him to 2029. Famous for signing such a long deal straight out of the juniors and being the grandson of a Tour finisher and the son of two pros, Christen is now building a palmarès. He was second in Milan-Torino and fifth in the Trofeo Laigueglia and got his first win from a stage in the Giro d’Abruzzo. He was once asked if he’d like to win a classic, the worlds or the Tour de France and he replied “all of them”. Time will tell.
Does Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) count as a revelation? He certainly progressed this spring as in the action. Likewise Oier Lazkano is literally the Spanish champion but was on the rampage in the cobbled classics, his challenge is to convert visibility and presence during the final hour into a result but he’s been a rare light for Movistar. 23 year old Kevin Vermaerke (DSM Firmenich-PostNL) didn’t get any breakthrough results but he’s been consistent right into long races, he was in the group sprinting for third in Liège and is his team’s third scorer of UCI points after Romain Bardet and Oscar Onley.
He didn’t win a classic but Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quickstep) won a round of the Majorca races and is notable because in training he was beating Tim Merlier, this got him the leadership, the leadout and the win. Similarly others like Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty), Pierre Gautherat (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale) were visible in tough races. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) needs no introduction but he was impressive in Gent-Wevelgem precisely because he wasn’t a sprinter but because he was bossing the Kemmelberg.
Any more picks? Share some suggestions in the comments please.
