Before last year’s Paris – Tours, Riley Sheehan was a relatively unknown name in the cycling world. The then 23-year-old American had just five days of racing under his belt as a stagiaire with Israel – Premier Tech before he did the unthinkable; he won one of the most prestigious one-day races on the cycling calendar. Not only did Sheehan upset the field to win the sprint from the breakaway, he became the first American in history to win the race.
Fast forward one year and Sheehan is set to return to the start line tomorrow. Only this time, everyone knows his name.
“It feels super special to come back to Paris – Tours as defending champion and to finish my season here, where really it all started for me one year ago,” says Sheehan. “It was a big turning point in my career, well really the starting point, so it’s a special race for me.”
Although Sheehan is lining up as the defending champion, he still thinks he can surprise the field tomorrow. The 213-kilometer course from Chartres to Tours features 10 gravel sectors, the kind of terrain Sheehan feels at home on.
“I don’t know if I’ll be as much of a surprise name as I was last year but I still think I can play the dark horse role and maybe try and find a few surprises here and there. I think everyone’s heads are turned towards some big names at the race so I’ll try and take advantage of that. I’m excited to be coming into the race with much more experience than the previous edition. I know the roads now and I think all of the experience I have gained this year will make a big difference.”
A lot has changed for Sheehan in the past year after his Paris – Tours win secured him a pro contract with IPT.
“It’s really nice to have this as my last race of the season as it’s nice to finish the year with a race you have been looking forward to,” Sheehan adds. “Since I finished the Vuelta I have had my eye on this race. This year has been filled with a lot of challenges and some success as well, but the main thing has been having so many opportunities, having done three Monuments and a Grand Tour in my first year, and those opportunities really came because of Paris – Tours last year. I can’t wait to be back at the start line and hopefully finish again on the top step.”
With the race often coming down to a bunch sprint, IPT is lining up with multiple cards to play tomorrow with Sheehan joined by Pascal Ackermann, Guillaume Boivin, Hugo Hofstetter, Jake Stewart, Tom Van Asbroeck, and Ethan Vernon.
