Boulder-based Riley Sheehan sprinted to the biggest win of his young career Sunday at the gravel-strewn classic Paris-Tours.
Sheehan, who raced for Lux Devo Team, Rally Cycling, Denver Disruptors, and is now riding as stagiaire at Israel-Premier Tech, won out of a five-rider sprint after the attackers held off a peloton full of WorldTour pros.
“This is special, it’s everything. This could be a big start for me,” Sheehan said at the line. “Having a big win like this at a special race is phenomenal. I’m speechless right now.”
The 23-year-old Sheehan only arrived to Europe to race as trainee with Israel Premier-Tech this summer. Sunday’s hulking 214km trek through northern France was just his sixth race with his ProTeam squad.
“It was brutal,” he said after the race.
“I knew at 2K to go we’d just about make it to sprint. I was able to give some wheels away so I was in perfect position. When the Team Auber guy [Joris Delbove, who finished fifth, ed] went, I knew that was the perfect wheel to jump off, and I didn’t look back after that.”
Victory in this 117th edition of Paris-Tours puts Sheehan on a roll of honor that includes some of the greats of modern one-day racing, including Philippe Gilbert, Greg Van Avermaet, and John Degenkolb.
🎙️ “Je suis sans voix… Gagner une telle course c’est incroyable pour moi !”
👏 Bravo @Riley_Sheehan_ !
🎙️ “I’m speechless… Winning such a race it’s incredible for me!”
👏 Congrats @Riley_Sheehan_! #ParisTours pic.twitter.com/ndNRbBVppE
— ParisTours (@ParisTours) October 8, 2023
Paris-Tours may be raced in autumn, but it plays out like the classics of spring. It’s fast and hard all day long, and the addition of 10 sectors of dirt road in the final 60km adds a twist to the typical road racing script.
Sheehan acknowledged how his upbringing on ‘cross and gravel bikes back home in Boulder helped him out Sunday.
“At a young age, cross was my thing,” he said. “In Colorado we have a ton of good dirt roads to ride on, so when I saw the parcours here I got really excited.”
Sheehan carried some hot form across the Atlantic with him this September when he pressed pause on his time with Denver Disruptors and flew out to race in Europe.
He already won two stages and the overall in May at the Joe Martin Stage Race for Denver Disruptors, and impressed last month with a top-10 in the stacked field of the Maryland Cycling Classic.
Sheehan is now scheduled to race the Japan Cup with Israel-Premier Tech next weekend.
He could be seeing a lot more racing out outside of the U.S. in 2024 after his breakout win Sunday.
“This is phenomenal,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to the future.”