The first part of Paris-Tours shaped the entire race, as a front group of around 30 riders broke loose and kept clear of the chasers until the finish. Pavel Brutt represented Tinkoff-Saxo at the head of the race but had to see a top result slip away after a strong attack in the finale. Matteo Trentin took the win.

Pavel Brutt was caught by the highly diminished main group with 2km to go and noted that the fast race of nearly 50 km/h was marked by flat-out racing from the beginning.

“We did 50 km/h in average. It was a very hard race. I was the only rider from the team in the front group, while other teams had four riders. On the penultimate climb, I attacked with two guys and then Van Avermaet rode up to us. I lost a couple of meters on the descent and couldn’t close the gap again. I fought alone between the front trio and the main group and tried to secure the 4th place but I was caught with two-three kilometers to go. I had burned my last match and I didn’t have legs to sprint for the 4th place”, tells Pavel Brutt, who ultimately finished 16th in the 231km race.

“We had a lot of crosswind in the beginning of the race and I made it into the front group after a big explosion. It was a very tough race and the wind increased in the finale, which was unfortunate for me, because I was trying to stay clear of the group behind. It was the final race of the season for us, so I wanted to use all of my energy but it didn’t turn out how I had hoped in the last couple of kilometers”, adds Pavel Brutt.

Paris-Tours consisted of 231 kilometers but the race took a decisive turn, when the peloton fractured in the crosswind after just 10 kilometers of racing. Tinkoff-Saxo sports director Lars Michaelsen comments that the team should have had more riders in the front group.

“We had crosswind from kilometer zero and after 10km, the peloton split. We had Brutt in the first group, which objectively wasn’t enough. We should have had more guys up there. The same goes for other teams and the peloton split at a moment, where we weren’t at the front. The big group behind tried to close the gap but it only grew bigger and bigger. Our protected rider, Breschel, abandoned at the feed-zone. He has been sick and we knew that it could go both ways”, tells Lars Michaelsen before adding:

“Pavel Brutt made a valiant effort in the front group that went from 30 to 25 and down to 20 riders along the race. He took part in initiating an attack in the finale with two of the race favorites. Van Avermaet came from behind and made it a four-strong group, however Brutt lost some meters on the descent and fought hard to keep the riders behind at bay. He was unfortunately caught and that’s naturally a shame after such an effort and taking into consideration that the group actually made it”, finishes Michaelsen.