Hirschi keeps winning and swims to new victory in soaking wet Italy, De Kleijn sprints to win in Fourmies

Marc Hirschi won the heavily rain-affected GP Industria & Artigianato. The 26-year-old rider from UAE-Team Emirates, who will move to Tudor after this season, was the best solo rider in a race that was shortened due to the rain. This was Hirschi’s sixth victory of 2024, following earlier wins at the Faun Drôme Classic, and in July (stage and overall wins in the Czech Republic) and August (Clasica San Sebastián and Bretagne Classic). An hour later, Arvid De Kleijn was the strongest sprinter in the GP Fourmies.

Due to a new spot on the calendar—the GP Industria & Artigianato was traditionally held in the spring—this classic effectively kicked off the Italian autumn. The race featured a strong field, including defending champion Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), who soloed to victory last year, as well as specialists like Hirschi (UAE-Team Emirates) and Davide Formolo (Movistar).

Unfortunately, the typically sunny Italian weather turned disastrous on this Sunday. Despite this, the race was set for a long 196 kilometers, offering many lesser-known riders a chance to shine in the breakaway. UAE-Team Emirates, as usual, took the initiative in the peloton with Sjoerd Bax, preventing a large gap to the breakaway. After EF Education-EasyPost took over with seventy kilometers to go, a long period of status quo followed.

At that point, only Walter Calzoni (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Baptiste Huyet (TDT-Unibet Cycling Team) were still ahead, with just a minute's lead on the peloton. The action was expected to ignite on the local circuit around the San Baronto climb, but when the peloton descended the climb for the first time with over sixty kilometers to go in heavy rain, the organizers decided to shorten the race to just one more lap after passing the finish line.

The peloton had to pick up the pace, which UAE-Team Emirates did effectively. Hirschi attacked on the final climb of San Baronto, and no one could follow the Swiss rider. Hirschi overtook the early breakaways and, despite the cooperation between Movistar and EF, was not caught again. Guillermo Silva of Caja Rural finished second, and Diego Ulissi completed the UAE celebration in third.

Results GP Industria & Artigianato 2024

Results powered by FirstCycling.com

While Italy was experiencing steep climbs, the same day saw a different kind of race in France. The GP de Fourmies—also known as the Grand Prix de Fourmies or Grand Prix de Fourmies—is more of a race for strong sprinters and/or fans of the Flemish classics. This was evident in the field of participants. Those who didn't compete in the BEMER Cyclassics in Hamburg likely opted for this sprint race in Northern France.

Despite some attacks over the 197.7 kilometers of the race, a sprint was unavoidable. Three (pro)continental teams were in the breakaway, but Intermarché-Wanty, Jayco-AlUla, and Uno-X worked together to reel them in. It was not their sprint leader, but De Kleijn from Tudor who emerged victorious. This was the Dutch rider's second win of the season, following a notable stage win in Paris-Nice. Gerben Thijssen finished second, and Soren Waerenskjold was third.

Results GP de Fourmies 2024

Results powered by FirstCycling.com