He sees life in yellow. After eight years at Cofidis, Christophe Laporte is having the best start to the season of his career with the Jumbo Visma, the team in vogue in recent years. Aligned with Paris-Roubaix, Sunday April 17, alongside Wout Van Aert, the Varois hopes once again to shine and, why not, do better than his sixth place last year in the Hell of the North.
“We did a three-week course at altitude, I had never done that in my career. We optimize all the points on equipment and training”, explained Christophe Laporte, after having won, on Paris-Nice, his first victory on the UCI circuit, on March 6. The Frenchman seems transformed since he swapped the red tunic for the yellow and black ensemble.
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) March 6, 2022
His victory at Mantes-la-Ville is the best example of this. Known for his qualities as a sprinter, he finally won the cup as a puncher. In a bump that seemed innocuous given the qualities of the riders present in the peloton, the native of Seyne-sur-Mer had blown up everyone, except his teammates Wout Van Aert and Primoz Roglic. A coup noticed by his two leaders, who had let him cross the line first to take the yellow jersey.
Late February, she first exit on Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne had already been noticed. Present among the fugitives, Christophe Laporte had been caught a few hectometres from the line before ranking eighth. A few weeks later, it was at the E3 Grand Prix that he amazed everyone. “Wout went full throttle and I was the only one who could follow him”, he had summarized on arrival. In the wheel of his leader of the day, the Varois had taken second place in this classic before repeating the following week on Ghent-Wevelgem, this time beaten by the sensation Biniam Girmay.
This evolution did not surprise a wise observer, Patric Lefévère, the boss of the Quick-Step so impressive generally on the classics: “You just have to look at his places in these races in recent years to understand that he could one day reach this level”, he explained to The Team last March. And to continue: “We don’t come second in A Travers les Flandres (in 2012), and fourth in Gand-Wevelgem (in 2018) by chance.”
On Paris-Roubaix, Christophe Laporte will be one of the cartridges of the Dutch formation. Wout Van Aert, who is recovering from a Covid-19 infection, will be present, but he himself has indicated that he will play the role of teammate. Laporte should therefore have his card to play in the Hell of the North. His burst of speed and his agility on the cobbles, combined with his start to the season with a bang, make him one of the natural favorites to raise his arms on the Vélodrome de Roubaix. Sixth last year, the Habs, who never cease to amaze, want to do better, but the competition will be tough and you will have to feel the blows. That’s good, since the start of the season, Christophe Laporte has already shown on several occasions that he had a nose.