Valence was supposed to host the final battle between the sprinters on this Tour de France. The sprint did indeed take place, but the bunch had to fight hard to catch a four-man breakaway that included Quentin Pacher, which was elected most combative rider of the day. The sprint wasn’t really smooth either, because of a crash one kilometre from the finish. Paul Penhoët and Clément Russo managed to avoid it and placed seventh and ninth respectively. Cyril Barthe, on the other hand, suffered a heavy crash and is forced to leave the Tour.
Before entering the Alps, all the sprinters had their eyes on the stage 17’s 160 kilometres on Wednesday. With only two climbs scheduled during the day, the last of which with more than forty kilometers to go, the route offered a real opportunity, probably the last, for the fast riders. Yet, another scenario was also on the table. “We had decided to put a rider in front, and we had mentioned the riders to watch, like Jonas Abrahamsen,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “With the weather forecast for the final, namely the rain, we thought it could be possible for the breakaway. You never know what will happen.” That’s why Quentin Pacher broke away from the start in a group of four men that included the Norwegian mentioned above, as well as Mathieu Burgaudeau and Vincenzo Albanese. “The plan was to take part in the moves from the beginning, because we’ve seen since the start of the Tour that small groups often went far, also taking advantage of chasing groups coming back at mid-stage,” added Quentin Pacher. “To do this, we also couldn’t have too big of a lead at the halfway point, between the climbs, and I hoped that would encourage some teams to open up the race again.”
“We want to seize every opportunity,” Quentin Pacher
The sprinters’ teams kept the breakaway’s lead under three minutes in the first half of the race, and as predicted by the Groupama-FDJ puncher, the race restarted on the first climb of the day, less than 100 kilometres from the finish. The peloton exploded and even came back at just 30 seconds. “When I heard that some sprinters were dropped and that some teams were trying to put them in trouble, I thought that the disorganization could perhaps work to our advantage,” Quentin added. “The best thing would have been for 4-5 guys to break away, come back to us, and then we could have fought with the peloton on the final flat part.” However, the peloton first bunched up before tackling the second climb, where only Wout van Aert attacked. Yet, the Belgian was unable to close the gap on the breakaway. Entering the final 30 kilometres, the four leaders did their best to stay away from the peloton, trying to take advantage of the rain. This did not prove enough, and Quentin Pacher and his companions were caught in the last ten kilometres. “The goal was to be proactive and to not have any regrets,” he said. “We want to seize every opportunity that comes. This could have been one of them.”
While the Frenchman was named the most combative rider of the day, the final sprint set up on a slippery road surface and through some tricky roundabouts. Unfortunately, a massive crash couldn’t be avoided, and Cyril Barthe was among the riders involved just under the flamme rouge. “Paul and I narrowly avoided it,” Clément Russo said. “We know that when you make an effort at that speed, you surely pay for it,” Paul Penhoët added. “We did one in a roundabout, then I lost Clément’s wheel after the crash. I had to make a big effort to get back in. Then a rider moved out in the final left-hand corner where I was trying to take the inside. I stopped pedalling for a bit, I found myself in the wind, and that probably cost us a better position today.” At the finish, the French sprinter took seventh place, while Clément Russo finished in ninth. “In a normal finish, I would have been frustrated not to have been able to do the sprint I wanted, but I can also be happy to have stayed on my bike in these conditions,” concluded Paul.His teammate Cyril Barthe was able to cross the finish line but will not be able to continue the Tour tomorrow due to a concussion. “He took a big impact on the head,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “Although he has regained consciousness, we know from experience that you have to be careful with these kinds of incidents. We rather go with safety. Cyril is a rider who gives a lot for the team, and it bothers us enormously to lose him. He has been remarkable on this Tour, and it breaks our hearts to see him go. We still needed him until Paris. It’s a hard blow.” The peloton will therefore reach the Courchevel resort without the Basque rider, for the first Alpine stage on Thursday, which will include the Col du Glandon, the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de la Loze.
