Laurence Pithie "missing a little bit of endurance" but hoping to take the next step at Tour of Flanders
Cycling
Laurence Pithie is perhaps the biggest breakthrough of the 2024 season so far. He won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, wore yellow at Paris-Nice and has been one of the few riders capable of responding to attacks from Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert in the cobbled classics. He takes to the start of the Tour of Flanders now in hopes of a new breakthrough.
“It’s always easy when you’re with those types of guys to try and show how good you are and get carried away. But I’m trying to stay a bit calmer in those finals and learn and see how they race,” Pithie told Cyclingnews. “I haven’t been able to stay with them till the line yet, so if I can learn a little bit each race, hopefully I’ll get closer and closer.”
At Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne he was in the winning quartet move created by Wout van Aert. At Gent - Wevelgem he was in another quartet together with van der Poel and Lidl-Trek duo Mads Pedersen and Jonathan Milan. However, in both occasions, he faded after many kilometers on the attack.
“It’s been good, I just missed a little bit at the pointy end of a race but I can be happy. I’ve got the power, I’m just missing a little bit of endurance," he admits, not too unusual for a 21-year newcomer in the scene. I’m just chasing that result still. For sure I’m surprising myself at each race but I’m happy to be there.”
This Sunday will see his Tour of Flanders debut, where he will race alongside Stefan Küng and Valentin Madouas in what is a strong block for Groupama - FDJ. “I’m super excited. No expectations, again it's a long race with a whole new dynamic. It's a Monument so everyone is extra motivated and can give a little bit more," he continues. "So I’m super motivated and I’ll try and be up there.”
He was also asked about the Giro d'Italia where he will make his debut later this spring, responding: “I’m still supposed to be going to the Giro so hopefully I can finish the Classics strongly and then build up for that. You’ve gotta have ambitious goals, so I’ll go there with the goal to try and win a stage.”
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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