Christophe Laporte: "The goal is to win as a team"

October 11 ^th 2026 - 18:11

Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease a Bike) after his third place in Paris-Tours 2026 won by his teammate Per Strand Hagnes:

"I’m feeling satisfied, really. A bit of a feeling of a job well done. You always want to win yourself, but the goal is to win as a team. So I'm really happy and Per [Strand Hagenes] is a rider who deserves it, so I'm pleased for him. Getting a podium finish behind him is always satisfying.The pace was really high all day, and when it's like that, it's very difficult to make a difference. A big group got away early in the race, and we had to ride pretty hard behind."

"It was tough all day. The wind wasn't particularly favourable on the sectors or at the top of the climbs. Personally, I quickly realised it was going to be difficult to make a difference with the wind like that and the way the race was unfolding. So I was more of a follower than someone making the moves, let's say."

"Per and I were following the attacks without doing too much. Then, in the finale, on the last little rise, the final small climb, a group got away with Per, myself and some others. It was a good group, but the riders behind came back, and after that it became really tactical on the main road. It was great to have two riders from the team, Per and myself, in the finale. His role was to attack and cover moves, while mine was more about saving energy for the sprint. In the end, it worked out for him, which is fantastic."