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Paris Tours 2019, one-day classic, October 13th

Chartres > Tours, 217 km

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Chemins des Vignes Map

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2018 results
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Start list
Top competitors
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While I think that the plugstreets added to Ghent-Wevelgem was a nice twist as a historical ride through the Ploegsteert Wood and the visit to Memorial to the Missing, the gravel roads added to Paris-Tours strikes me as a quick and cheap solution.

I like gravel but adding random dirt roads just in order to create selection is not the way to go. I hope this race survives it's identity crisis. It was once a race with a lot of prestige.
 
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I like gravel but adding random dirt roads just in order to create selection is not the way to go. I hope this race survives it's identity crisis. It was once a race with a lot of prestige.
and most importantly: it was a really good race, over the past couple of years.

It still produces a lot of entertainment, but there was really no need to change the character so drastically.
 
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While I think that the plugstreets added to Ghent-Wevelgem was a nice twist as a historical ride through the Ploegsteert Wood and the visit to Memorial to the Missing, the gravel roads added to Paris-Tours strikes me as a quick and cheap solution.

I like gravel but adding random dirt roads just in order to create selection is not the way to go. I hope this race survives it's identity crisis. It was once a race with a lot of prestige.
It lost a lot of prestige loooong before they added the dirt roads
 
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It lost a lot of prestige loooong before they added the dirt roads

Yeah, didn't they add the dirt roads in an attempt to regain some prestige?
"Oh, so dirt roads are the new hot thing? Let's add some!"

(Bit weird to talk about dirt roads being a "new" thing… wasn't there are time when all races were pretty much on dirt roads? I'm pretty sure there are cycling races that predates the majority of roads having asphalt.)
 
I'd say since the parcours change in 2011 every race was exciting, always offering chances for both attackers as well as the sprinters. Now there's more action indeed - but it's one-dimensional
I must admit that I don't care about the sprinters at all. Earlier we had 10 kms of action, about from the start of the two small cotes just before the finish. Now we're in for perhaps 50 kms of action, from where the dirt roads starts.
 
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