Over One Thousand Cyclists Participate in 34th Charly Gaul Cycle Race

On Sunday 1 September 2024, the Charly Gaul cycle race took place from Echternach in the east of the Grand Duchy.

Organised by ACC Contern and under the auspices of the Luxembourg Cycling Federation, the cycle race is now in its 34th year; since 2008, the start and finish have been in Echternach. It offers a choice of two courses, the longer one around 150km and the shorter on around 100km, with the hilly landscape around the Mullerthal (Luxembourg's Little Switzerland) being a strong feature. 

The course is intended to reflect the great successes of Charly Gaul, the Luxembourgish cyclist nicknamed the Angel of the Mountains, who won the 1958 Tour de France as well as the Giro d'Italia in both 1956 and 1959.

It was open to all cyclists aged 14+. The 2024 course was a figure-of-eight, with the longer Parcours A also extending further north up as far as Holzthum, north of Vianden.

Out of a total 513 entries, the longer Parcours A (149km) was won by Charel Meyers in a time of 3 hours, 44 minutes, 19 seconds; Moritz Palm and Michiel Minnaert were second and third respectively, all on the same time. In the Parcours B (99km, with 590 entries), Cyril Gustin finished first in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 3 seconds, with Chris Johanns seconds 2 seconds back, and Thomas Dereutte in third, a further 1 minute, 7 seconds in arrears. 

While online registrations closed on Thursday, last minute registrations were taken on Saturday - as well as early on Sunday morning - at the Centre Culturel Trifolion. The race itself started at 09:30 for all riders, with the shorter course finishers starting to arrive back at the finish line at the Place du Marchès at around midday, and longer course finishers at around 13:30. The prize ceremony was held at around 15:00.

The cyclists - and roadside spectators - enjoyed a warm sunny first day of September, with temperatures in the high 20s during the morning and early afternoon.