(whooshing)
- No rider ever gets into a breakaway thinking
(sighing)
this'll do for the next four or five hours,
until we hand over the sprinters and they
can have their fun.
Often it does end up in a bunch,
but sometimes there's a big upset.
And we love it!
When those who battle to get into the break of the day
manage to stay away all the way to the finish.
So, we thought we'd take the time to celebrate
and highlight some of the most memorable and epic
breakaway moments of the year so far.
(electronic music)
Back in March, Stage One of Volta Catalunya
was meant to be one for the sprinters.
But De Gendt had other ideas.
Initially, in an early break, with five other riders
he left them all behind with 60 kilometers to go,
settling into what he described as a steady
380 watt solo effort.
Bonkers.
Such was his power on the day that he ended up crossing
the line with a whopping two minutes and 38 seconds
over Max Schachmann.
And if you thought that was De Gendt at his brilliant best,
think again,
because he was even more impressive at the Tour De France.
On stage eight he went clear at the very start of a
200 kilometer day.
The last man to stay with him was Alessandro De Marchi.
But even the Italian was unable to stick with De Gendt
as he continued to increase the power towards the finish.
Despite the world's best riders racing flat out
behind him, De Gendt managed to hold off Tebo Pinot,
and Julian Alaphilippe, to take what was arguably
the most impressive win of his already impressive career.
(upbeat music)
At this year's European Road Champs in the Netherlands
their courses were flat.
Really flat.
So, we were expecting a bit of a predictable snooze fest
if we're honest.
Not so!
In the women's race it was absolutely blowing
a hoolie as they say in Scotland.
It was that windy.
Some of the riders actually got blown off
where the wind was funneling down through the buildings.
A decent looking breakaway of Dutch woman Amy Pieters,
Italy's Elena Cecchini,
and Germany's Lisa Klein got cleared.
Both Cecchini and Pieters are pretty handy in a bunch kick.
But, the Dutch also had Kirsten Wild, arguably one of
the riders of the season in Lorena Weibes in their ranks.
But, the breakaway stayed clear, Lisa Klein led out
with local rider literally from a few kilometers away.
Amy Pieters, who made no mistake out kicking Cecchini,
for the win.
Well, can you imagine what would have happened if she'd
lost with a team like that with the bunch behind?
Cue the men's race and Cecchini's partner
Elia Viviani, who is just on another level this year.
He clearly took the lead from Cecchini's ride
and found himself in a breakaway with fellow fast man
Pascal Ackermann and Belgian Yves Lampaert.
Normally, a Deceuninck-Quick-Step teammate.
Again, with so many fast finishes in the bunch behind,
you would have bet your house, your car, and your kids
on it being a bunch sprint,
but that's not what happened.
The trio stayed away.
Viviani attacked, dropping Ackermann,
and then Lampaert stood no chance of outgunning him
in a pound for pound sprint about.
Viviani, European Champion.
(upbeat music)
When we talk about epic finishes,
Stage 18 of this year's Giro D'Italia,
from Valdaora/Olang to Santa Maria Di Sala,
has got to go down in history for its epicness.
It was a mainly downhill stage,
a long one at 222 kilometers
with a three man break that contained
AGR2 La Mondiale's Nico Denz,
Bardiani CSF's Mirco Maestri,
and Damiano Cima from the little Nippo-Vini Fantini team.
It had bunch sprint written, painted, and nailed onto it.
320 kilometers to go
and they still had in excess of three minutes.
It would be touch-and-go.
At the flam bridge it was down to something
in the region of 16 seconds.
The three riders out front
were messing about something chronic.
Denz blinked first and went for the sprint,
the peleton, with Ackermann on the front
were closing and closing fast,
but the rush didn't come and Cima held on
by the narrowest of margins to take the team's first
and last Giro D'Italia stage victory.
Yes, last because it was announced the team is folding
at the end of 2019.
A real shame, we need stories like this one in sport.
Luckily for Cima,
he's found a home with Gazprom-RusVelo for 2020.
(upbeat music)
Teenagers don't win near on 230 kilometer classics
in their first attempt on their own!
Or at least they didn't.
2019 has been very much the year of the youngsters
and none more so than Belgian Remco Evenepoel.
Getting clear in a breakaway with Toms Skujins,
Remco just rode away on the steep final climb
of Murgil-Tontorra and held his time gap
over the race favorites behind all the way to the top.
After he put in a flawless and fearless descent.
He crossed the line almost in disbelief
at what he had just achieved.
(upbeat music)
We love Marianne Vos.
In fact, you could do a top ten video dedicated
to her epic moments of this year alone.
One victory that stands out is Marianne's stage victory
into Askim in the Tour of Norway.
We're so used to those late burnout sprints
that when she went on the attack
on a climb on subsequent laps,
we were a little surprised
that she was already on the offensive.
At the time, it looked like one of those
form-honing world championship training moves.
With the peleton closing behind,
led by Canyon-SRAM's Lisa Klein,
in one of her trademark, monster efforts
to try to set things up for teammate Alice Barnes,
Barnes closed right on the line, but not by enough
and Vos took the stage.
It was absolutely brilliant.
(upbeat music)
Stage 19 of Vuelta is memorable in many ways.
Firstly, it will be remembered for Movistar again
forgetting the unwritten rule
that you don't attack the overall leader when he's down,
but secondly for the solo victory of Remi Cavagna.
Again, normal rules dictate that the breakway dutifully
combines together in a collective display of solidarity
until either they get caught with 10 kilometers to go
or they stay away and fight it out for the spoils
amongst themselves.
Not so, Remi.
He went with 25 kilometers to go
and held off the peleton for a famous victory
and his first Grand Tour stage win.
You imagine that it won't be his last.
(upbeat music)
By stage 18 of this year's Tour De France
you could say that things hadn't quite gone to plan
for Nairo Quintana.
And it was rumored, at that time, that he was off
to pastures new, and he was in the region
of nine and a half minutes down on GC
with over 5000 meters of climbing on this stage
from Embrun to Valloire,
he slipped into a breakaway,
which took almost 40 kilometers
to fall after a frantic start.
He was lucky to have some serious climbing talent
for company, as well, as a couple of teammates.
It was the Quintana of old though,
who put in a monster dig,
with over 26 kilometers to go.
This was one of the most exciting days
of this year's tour.
Bernal attacking behind and Alaphilippe putting in
one of the most epic descents we've seen,
to maintain yellow.
Quintana though, crossed the line with almost the same gap
that he'd started the final climb with.
It was a brilliant win, although much attention
was focused on the red splotch on his jersey,
which turned out to be an exploding energy gel.
(upbeat music)
We're including Annameik Van Vleuten in this one.
A for her breakaway to victory,
but also as it was only her second race back
after breaking a bone in her leg
at the Innsbruck World Championships in 2018.
Strade Bianche is one of my favorite races of the year.
And that trademark star was easy to pick out
from the helicopter.
It wasn't a long breakaway,
she made her move on the seventh of eight gravel sectors
on a steep climb,
but it was just the manner in which she went.
Riding the likes of Marianne Vos off her wheel.
The way she attacked the final climb
of the Via Santa Caterina into Siena
was the shape of things to come in 2019.
And if that was impressive,
what about her ride in the world championships
in Harrogate.
Her attack there, with maybe 110 kilometers to go
in the World Road Champs looked doomed,
even by her own admission.
Maybe we, and she, should have had more faith.
Where on earth did she get that strength from?
Maybe she was still smarting from Chloe Dygart Owen
putting in a near perfect time trial,
just days before to take that crown away from her,
but still 110 kilometers out!
Good grief!
Was what most people's reaction
when she crossed the line,
hours later,
arms aloft, having dished out one of the most epic
solo breaks ever seen in a world road race champs.
The rest of the field were left picking
their shattered hopes and dreams off the roads of Yorkshire.
(upbeat music)
The autumn classic Paris Tours used
to be a fairly predictable sprinters type classic
and there aren't too many of those anymore.
In 2018, with a trend toward gravel,
the organizers have now created a route
that's littered with climbs of gravel sectors
in the final 60 kilometers of the race.
In this year's edition, Jelle Wallays
of Lotto Soudal, who actually won this race
on the old route in 2014,
went off in search of the breakaway
containing defending champion Soren Kragh Andersen
of Sunweb with still 50 kilometers remaining.
An untimely puncture, by Kragh Andersen when he only
had the Maven Neutral Service car for company,
was the end of his stay in the lead
and Wallays gave him the smallest of sideways glances
as he went pass.
The chase just never really seemed to get going.
There were punctures galore,
including three for Stefan Kung,
and two for Niki Terpstra,
who would eventually go clear
with AG2R La Mondiale Oliver Naesen
and take second behind Wallays,
who celebrated his only win this season,
with a bike above the head post-line celebration.
We love one of those.
(upbeat music)
And finally, you have to include Hugh Carthy
in this list.
His performance on the final stage of this year's
Tour de Suisse was simply outstanding.
He went clear on his own, just five kilometers
into the 100 kilometer mountain feast
and through sheer guts and determination
and presumably an eye-watering amount of raw power,
he held on to win by just 22 seconds,
over second place Rohan Dennis at the finish line
in Ulrichen.
So those are our favorite breakaway successes of 2019,
but there are loads more.
So feel free to put your own favorite or favorites
in the comment section below.
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