Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Ticino, for the GP Lugano! But... wait... where's the lake, actually? And why does the roadbook say that the start is in Moutier? The finish in Porrentruy? What's wrong with this race?
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OK, we've got some answers to our questions. The race you are following today is not really the GP Città di Lugano, as announced ever since 2019, when the race - with the exact same parcours - had its first edition.
No, this is actually the Tour du Jura, a pretty traditional race as well, and we're racing on the 2014 route. As we've done every year since 2019. So, why is it called "GP Lugano" whereas it's actually the Tour du Jura?
Rumours are there's one single reason: attracting better riders. If you think you'll be racing in Switzerland's southernmost canton, where it's always warm (or hot) in summer, near Lake Lugano, you'd probably prefer that to some anonymous Jurassic villages, without any kind of Dolce Vità .
So, no, we're not in Lugano after all, we're indeed in Moutier. Which geographically belongs to the Jura massif, but politically belongs to the Canton of Bern. At least until the end of 2025, where it will move to the Canton of Jura. A pretty controversial location, ever since the Canton of Jura was created by splitting the region off the Canton of Bern...
The major difficulties - Le Sommet (the peak, literally), La Caquerelle, La Roche and the Col del la Croix - all are in the first half of the race, and so it's usually not the pure puncheurs who enjoy this race most. Most of them are in Italy anyway, for the clashing Milano - Torino classic.
However, the short yet pretty steep climb to Le Varandin, repeated three times in the last 50 kilometers, still offers a good opportunity to the puncheurs for creating a separation. Usually it's the better sprinters among the puncheurs who are fighting for the win, with names like Van Stayen, Ackermann or Gautier on the roll of honour. Last year, though, the breakaway created a pretty big upset - we'll soon find out who handles this route best in 2024!
Before we jump into the race, let's take a look at the bookmakers' favourites. They do indeed see great chances for the punchy sprinters, with Demare, Lagane and Ackermann topping the list. Kelderman, McCarthy and Edmondson are next, getting two stars. And we even have a "local" rider on the list as well, given that Hirschi is Bernese. He's joined by Paez, Oliveira and Narvaez. And now, let's go!
We're definitely not in sunny Ticino today. There's some sun, but it's also cloudy and rainy. Looks like fall has arrived early in Jura...
Some of the top favourites are right in the first row, most notably Lagane and McCarthy, but also Hirschi and Narvaez. The surely won't be our first attackers, but who knows how the race unfolds...
Here are our first baroudeurs, attacking right after the waving of the flag. Svestad-Bardseng went first, followed by Borg and Phonarjthan. Daniel is on the chase, as are Kusuma and Huby.
Mikutis, Yechezkel and Schäppi is the next threesome, and then we also have Saya Kuroeda, Tulett and Orosco.
Defending champion Varga is on the move as well, following an attack by Van Vliet, Berhe and Barbier.
However, Vanderpool didn't like this last Foursome and reeled them in quickly after. Leaving 12 riders up front.
We got no more attacks, so these 12 riders are indeed our breakaway of the day. Let's get an overview:
Orosco
Phonarjthan
Svestad-Bardseng
Tulett
Borg
Schäppi
Kusuma
Huby
Yechezkel
Daniel
Saya Kuroeda
Mikutis
Daniel and Mikutis are the best puncheurs, while Orosco is the best climber and not much worse in the hills. Svestad-Bardseng also handles hills pretty well.
Saya Kuroeda and Phonarjthan are the best sprinters, but they can't climb. Daniel is a good rouleur in addition to his puncheur skills, he might be the most complete rider of the group on this profile.
The gap is 1'28" with most of the race still to go, let's see how much leeway they get.
We're not even on the first real climb yet, as the gap is already up to 4 minutes. Bulux, Hoem, Yzeiraj, Vanderpool, Dlamini, Culey and Enggaard are controlling the pack; you can't call that chasing yet for sure.
Not much happened until we get to the climb to Le Sommet, except for both Ackermann and Meurisse puncturing. Neither got dropped from the pack, though, with their teams fixing the issue very quickly.
Huby is leading the breakaway in some of today's steepest slopes, with the advantage up to almost 5 minutes.
Right after having ridden through Glovelier, the climb to La Roche starts, which is the 3rd of the 4 major uphills. Bulux brought the gap down to just under 4 minutes, as Orosco is leading the frontrunners.
Some twisty roads here, beware! The pack rode the climb about a minute faster than the breakaway, but now the attackers are taking more risk in the downhill to extend the margin again.
And as the pack - led by Hoem - tackles the final big climb, the Col de la Croix, the gap is exactly 3 minutes. They can see the escapees on this climb, let's see how much faster a good climber like Hoem can crest this ascent.
Well, in fact, the opposite happened. The pack doesn't seem to be overly interested in making an early catch, and so the break's advantage grows back to over 4 minutes!
And it's not like they climbed fast, given that everyone's still there. Even the very weak uphill riders. 100km done, a bit more than 80 remaining.
But while the pack took it easy during most of the climb, they almost sprinted over the top - causing quite a few gaps to open up!
Some decent puncheurs like Honore, Sakalou and - most importantly - the whole Team Popo4Ever are currently caught behind! Still plenty of time to get back, but they should really be paying more attention!
However, making it back is not that easy if powerhouses like Dlamini, Yzeiraj or Iversen lead the chase! The breakaway's advantage is collapsing, as it's down to 2 minutes with 60km to go - and the gapped riders are still 1'42" behind the pack!
The escapees are still working well together, but how much do they have left in the tank?
It's really not looking good for defending champion Varga and his team - nor for those who are with them, of course. The peloton is still powering away, and the stragglers just can't seem to close the gap...
With 50km to go, the attackers tackle the climb to Le Varandin for the first out of three times. After the first ascent, there will be a long rather flat stretch, before they'll be back for the final two ascents in the last 30 kilometers.
The gap hasn't gone down much lately, as it's still 1'45".
More riders are getting dropped from the peloton, which probably really is the end of all hopes of coming back for the riders distanced earlier. Paulus is the most notable name in this group, but his team is probably banking on Oliveira anyway.
Surprise, surprise! The peloton actually had zero interest in powering up this hill - and they even slowed down so much that all but two riders aren't considered to be back in the bunch!
Which obviously means that the breakaway extended the gap again - but only to 2'15", meaning they took it pretty easy as well.
However, the reunion was short-lived! Only 68 riders are now in the pack, with some new names like Azman or Pellaud getting caught out this time. In addition to those who weren't attentive before.
Paez is setting the pace in the pack, and the gap has dropped below 2 minutes again.
Finish line! Sadly for Yechezkel and his companions, this will only matter the next time they get here, as the riders still have 30km to go. All 12 escapees are still together.
You can see that the final kilometer is slightly downhill, except for the final meters, so expect a very fast sprint for the win - if we don't get a decisive attack on the next two climbs!
Paez has really hammered down the descent, reducing the gap to just 1'19"!
Mikutis leads the breakaway as they tackle Le Varandin for the second time! The pack is just two bends behind, though, as the gap is down below the minute mark!
And as soon as the climb is on for the pack, they're definitely done with playing games! Teuns is the first to move, with Ackermann, Edmondson and Hirschi being the fastest to react.
The first breakaway riders have now been dropped, with Phonarjthan and Yechezkel gone.
Attacks are quickly ceasing again, though, looks like it was just a test to see who has the legs and who doesn't at all.
Orosco is now playing out his climbing strength, still keeping a 49" gap over the pack. Svestad-Bardseng seemst to be the only one able to follow him.
But right at the end of the steepest section, it's Hirschi who attacks! The Swiss is going all-in with this early attack - but for now, it seems to be working, as Ackermann is unable to hold his wheel!
On the top, we have a leading duo of Orosco and Svestad-Bardseng, whereas Hirschi has almost caught the remaining escapees! If he can take some respite in this group during the downhill, this could be a big move for him!
Lagane and Edmondson are now leading the pack, they clearly don't want to let go of Hirschi!
We're on the final 15 kilometers! Orosco and Svestad-Bardseng still have 32" on the chasing group now led by Hirschi; the others can't - or don't want to - support him, as he has to do all the work on his own.
Kwiatkowski is now leading the chase in the pack, 23" behind the group of 9 ahead. Just 23 riders are left in the main group now - with the main name to be dropped being Ackermann! The German is definitely paying for his chasing effort - and for his bad downhill skills, probably!
The 2nd group is currently another 30" behind, and besides the German champion includes Borges as the best puncheur, but also sprinters like Kulikovskiy or El Sabbahi, who surely will hope that the race slows down again before and during the last climb!
The final hill is on! Orosco and Svestad-Bardseng still have a 28" advantage, as Hirschi doesn't seem to have too much left to spend. Or did he just save his energy for the steepest slopes again?
Behind, it's now Oliveira who is about to bring the peloton back to the chase group, meaning that Hirschi's attack probably has to be considered a failure!
Ah, and the group behind is down to 14 riders, with Teuns being the biggest name to be dropped in the latest split. Here are the names still in the "peloton" - or let's rather call it "group of favourites" by now:
Oliveira
Kwiatkowski
Meurisse
Kelderman
Narvaez
Edmondson
Lagane
Korosec
Demare
Tesfatsion
McCarthy
Nikiema
Müller
Hindley
The latter is about to lose touch as well, though, so we'll see.
10.5km to go! The remaining escapees - bar Korosec and Svestad-Bardseng, who are still up front - have been caught, but Hirschi still has some seconds over the pack! Oliveira is still leading, he could surely do with some help?!?
One kilometer later, and Hirschi has now closed the gap to the leaders, after another acceleration! Oliveira was trying to sprint away from the pack as well, but can't quite get a decisive gap.
Meurisse, Kelderman and Narvaez are next, about to move past the Portuguese.
26" currently between the leaders and the chase group - which currently includes 31 riders. But we'll take stock once the climb is done!
In the end it's Kelderman who shuts down Hirschi's move, bringing the three leaders back with just 9km to go! Can someone launch a decisive attack over the hilltop?
It was perfectly obvious that Meurisse would try this move, he's got a reputation to lose!
The Belgian doesn't have a big gap, but he's pretty strong downhill - can he hold on? 8km left!
And 17 riders left in the group:
Kelderman
Korosec
Hirschi
Orosco
Edmondson
Lagane
Narvaez
Oliveira
Demare
Tesfatsion
McCarthy
Nikiema
Müller
Kwiatkowski
Svestad-Bardseng
Hindley
Yudha
With 6.5km to go, a group including Kelderman, Edmondson, Hirschi, Narvaez and Korosec got a small gap over the others and are now chasing Meurisse, who is still a couple of seconds ahead!
But once the leader was caught, the chasing group slowed down as well, and so the group of favourites is pretty much reunited - apart from Yudha, Hindley and Svestad-Bardseng who have been dropped.
Now it's Nikiema who tries, but Müller instantly takes his wheel - and Kelderman is quick to respond as well.
In the end, this led nowhere, and so we still have a group of 15 most likely fighting for the win!
The big favourite now obviously has to be Demare, who is still well positioned!
Kudos to Orosco, who is still there after a long day out front!
With just 1.5km left, Nikiema tries again, as he definitely doesn't want to sprint versus Demare or Lagane - but it's exactly these two who are on his wheel!
Narvaez and Müller are well positioned, too, with Korosec and Oliveira - two decent sprinters as well - right behind!
We're under the red kite, and it's indeed between the group of 15 (bar Orosco, who finally was dropped) for the win!
Demare is already past Nikiema - but he's also out in the wind already! Which to a lesser extent also holds for Lagane, who launched his sprint a little later.
The next row is Narvaez, Korosec, Müller and Oliveira - with the Swiss being the only one of them who can't really sprint.
Tesfatsion, Meurisse, Kwiatkowski, Edmondson, Hirschi, Kelderman and in particular McCarthy are in a bad position and may not be fighting for the top spots!
700m to go, as Demare has a clear advantage now! Lagane and Narvaez are almost level for 2nd, with Korosec, Oliveira, Nikiema and Müller fighting for the next places.
But things have clearly changed just 200m later, as Demare has clearly cracked, which leaves Lagane in front! Narvaez is almost past the Frenchman as well, and from behind Korosec and Oliveira are quickly closing in!
300m left, and now it's Lagane who is clearly in front! Narvaez couldn't keep up his top speed, and now he needs to fight hard against Korosec and Oliveira to save this podium spot!
Demare definitely is out of it, he just didn't have enough left after quite a lot of climbing today. And behind, it's Meurisse who is closing in, another decent sprinter!
A little more than 100m left, this has to be it for Lagane!?!
Korosec and Narvaez are almost level, with Oliveira not far behind.
Meurisse is doing really well - as is Edmondson, making a late surge!
The situation up front is pretty much unchanged - but Edmondson now is moving quickest! Can he even get a podium spot, or is he running out of road?
But the win belongs to one man, and it's a clear win: Christopher Lagane delivered a tactical masterclass of a race, never doing too much, always being attentive - and then striking at the perfect moment! Congratulations to Podium Ambition, who rightfully bear this name today!
Jhonatan Narvaez then indeed had enough left to fend off Rok Korosec in the fight for 2nd place! Definitely a big result for both, and in particular the CT rider - who is having an unbelievable year anyway - will be really happy!
So there wasn't enough road left for Joshua Edmondson to claim a podium, but given his bad positioning, 4th place is still a good result. Which also holds for Xandro Meurisse and Michal Kwiatkowski in 5th and 6th.
Rui Oliveira on the other hand will be pretty disappointed, as it feels like he could have done more in the sprint against these riders. However, he probably just spent a little too much energy on the hills to be at full speed in the sprint.
Which holds even more for Arnaud Demare, who only finishes 9th - even behind Jay McCarthy, who must also be really disappointed, but his positioning was just awful. Just like Demare's sprint - as said before, probably due to bad timing and lack of energy after all the repeated climbing.
Natnael Tesfatsion then rounds off the Top 10, a good result for him. A bad result for Switzerland, though, with no Swiss rider ending up in the Top 10. Müller was best in 11th place, and Hirschi finally only got 13th place - that last climb was just a little bit too long for him.
Nikiema also finished in this group, taking 12th place, in between the two Swiss.
Kelderman on the other hand once again confirmed his reputation of being ofter overestimated. To be fair, he did a lot of work, which didn't help in the end - but barely making the front group here is definitely far below his skills.
Which doesn't hold at all for Orosco, finishing 15th - a great result for the Trinidad native!
Hindley, Svestad-Bardseng and Yudha, who can be seen under the red kite, then finished 16th through 18th, which is a fantastic result in particular for the Norwegian neo-pro!
Govekar, who was dangling in between the front group and the chasers for most of the final lap, then just held onto 19th place, with Rojas getting the final Top 20 spot.
And if you have a living legend in the race, you better show him - even if he's the very final rider to cross the line. You obivously recognize the great Quispe.
And here's our winner of the day - not in Lugano, but in Porrentruy - here's Christopher Lagane! Big congratulations to a great win here in Switzerland - and I'm sure he won't care at all about the actual race location tonight!
That's it from Jura, see you again next year - be it here or in "actual" Lugano!
GP Lugano 
