Mozzato blasts past Theuns to win 2023 Binche-Chimay-Binche

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Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-Samsic) scored his second win of the season at Binche-Chimay-Binche, coming through with a late burst at the finish line to take victory in dramatic fashion.

The Italian came from behind inside the final 20 metres of the 198.6km race, powering past Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek) and Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to nip it at the finish line at the end of a thrilling final.

Kragh Andersen had look to have all but secured victory with an attack on the cobbles in the final 500 metres of the race, coming off the wheel of the Lidl-Trek lead-out to get a gap as the select lead group raced on the uphill rise to the finish line.

However, Theuns was on his case, working his way across as the riders hit the tarmac again and making it two up front inside the final 250 metres.

Behind the duo, Mozzato was battling to get across along with Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) and Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies), but it looked as though the dash for the line would be contested between Kragh Andersen and Theuns.

The Belgian, jumping from Kragh Andersen’s wheel with a mighty effort, nudged past inside the final 50 metres, but Mozzato was closing in behind. Just as Theuns pulled alongside Kragh Andersen, the Arkéa-Samsic fastman came up the outside to stake his claim.

In a split-second, Mozzato was ahead, timing his push for the line perfectly to take his first career one-day race victory.

“The entire day was stressful. Everybody wanted to be in a good position, there were splits in the peloton and that was a factor riding to the final. Everybody was thinking about the final and it caused a lot of stress,” Mozzato said after his win.

“I did this race two years ago and arrived in the last km in the front and then the guys came from behind. Today I was trying to wait a bit and that was the right choice. In the end I got a lot of luck because in front of me I found two guys who didn’t think too much to put the effort. In this way I was able to do the effort at the right moment to cross the line first.

“I’m very happy after this day because I have a win and that’s very special for me. I had a good day and I succeeded in taking away the victory.”

How it unfolded

The race welcomed a plethora of big names, including sprinters Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny), and Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates), plus Classics men Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Yves Lampaert (Soudal-QuickStep), and Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën).

None of those star names were in the early break of the day as the peloton prepared to take on the long course south and back to Binche, which included five laps of a hilly circuit in the host town, however.

Instead, Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ryan Gibbons (UAE Team Emirates), Unai Cuadrado (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and Nick van der Lijke (Leopard TOGT) made the move of the day early on.

The group managed to build a lead of three minutes during the race before Cuadrado and Van der Lijke fell away during the challenging closing circuit, leaving two up front with Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) in a futile solo chase behind.

Entering the final 30km of the race, the breakaway survivors enjoyed a minutes’ advantage as several riders, including Paleni, Trentin, and Lampaert kicked off the attacks back in the peloton.

De Bondt and Gibbons were finally brought back 22km from the line as waves of attacks flew behind, with Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) among the next batch of riders attempting to go clear.

It would take until the 15km mark for a move to finally get away, however, with Hugo Page (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Casper Pedersen (Soudal-QuickStep) jumping. The pair built a lead of 15 seconds as Lotto-Dstny and Lidl-Trek put in the work behind them, their effort lasting 10km before things came back together.

Lidl-Trek led the way into the final handful of kilometres into Binche, keen to set up Theuns for his first win in two years. A crash involving Lampaert and Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) 2km out disrupted the chances of some in the peloton with a split midway through, but up front it was still the US squad in charge.

In the end, Theuns hit the front a long way from the line on the rising cobbled street, giving Kragh Andersen a chance to push on and attack, too.

The pair, coming together in the final 250 metres, looked set to battle it out for the race victory, but the conclusion to a thrilling finale brought a late Mozzato burst and with it Arkéa-Samsic’s ninth win of 2023.

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