"The last shall be first," must have been the thought at Groupama-FDJ. As the second-to-last team, the French squad has announced its lineup for the upcoming Giro d'Italia starting Saturday. The standout name is none other than Laurence Pithie!
The barely 21-year-old New Zealander kicked off his second professional season explosively with a slew of high finishes and a win at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, a WorldTour-level event in Australia no less. After two podium finishes at the New Zealand national championships in both the road race and time trial, the young Kiwi headed to Flanders to tackle the cobblestones.
In the absence of Stefan Kung, Groupama-FDJ's undisputed leader in the classics, Pithie raced aggressively in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and was just unable to keep up with the decisive group including Wout van Aert, Oier Lazkano, and Tim Wellens, which eventually sprinted for the win. Pithie also finished eighth at GP Le Samyn and landed on the podium in the first two stages of Paris-Nice, earning him the yellow leader's jersey, which he wore for just one day.
Read more below the photo.
Pithie isn't just aiming for flat stages, but also for ferocious finishes
Back in Flanders, he made waves again at Gent-Wevelgem, where this time Mads Pedersen and Mathieu van der Poel dropped him on the final climb of the Kemmelberg. Then, at a crucial moment, he suffered a flat tire in Dwars door Vlaanderen and struggled a bit in the Tour of Flanders, but just a week later, he bounced back. Despite a fall, he impressively finished seventh in Paris-Roubaix.
In the Italian cycling race, Pithie is presented with an exciting program. He should excel in both flat sprints and more challenging finishes, giving him ample opportunity to compete for victory in many stages. However, it remains to be seen how he will fare over three weeks of racing. He expressed his ambitions a few weeks ago to IDLProCycling.com. In the boot-shaped country, he will be supported by four French riders: Enzo Paleni, Olivier Le Gac, Clément Davy, and Cyril Barthe. Also joining them are the Brit Lewis Askey, the Swiss Fabian Lienhard, and the Italian Lorenzo Germani.
Selection Groupama-FDJ Giro d'Italia 2024
Laurence Pithie
Lewis Askey
Cyril Barthe
Clément Davy
Lorenzo Germani
Olivier Le Gac
Fabian Lienhard
Enzo Paleni
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