Until the very last few metres, he could believe in it. After a day spent at the front with eleven men, including his teammate Olivier Le Gac, Rémy Rochas was able to fight for the stage win on the final day of racing in the Tour de Wallonie. After taking advantage of his teammate’s hard work and attacking on the final climb of the course, the French climber found himself with four competitors and the peloton right behind in the last kilometre. In the final sprint, he eventually took fourth place, with Corbin Strong slipping himself between the fugitives. A near-perfect outcome to a promising Tour de Wallonie.
The Tour de Wallonie was expected to deliver its verdict on Wednesday around Bertrix, across 183 kilometers, eight classified climbs and nearly 3,000 metres of climbing. With the general classification far from being decided, the Groupama-FDJ squad intended to follow the favorites, but only partially. “We wanted to be quite conservative until the last twenty-five kilometres, but we still told Rémy that if a big move went from the start, there was an opportunity for the stage, and that he should follow,” explained William Green. “That’s what happened. Olivier took the lead immediately when he saw strong teams being represented in this break, Rémy went across, and we had two guys in front, which was super.” At the front, the French duo was joined by ten other riders, including Lorenzo Milesi, Ben Swift, Matevz Govekar, and Clément Izquierdo. “It became quite clear from the start that Lidl-Trek wanted to make a difference on the final climb and that the breakaway therefore had a real chance,” William added. “Israel-Premier Tech controlled at the beginning because there was a rider quite close overall, but we were quite optimistic. Plus, we were fortunate that it was quite an experienced breakaway. Cooperation is sometimes better with least riders, but it was very good today.”
“We came to win,” Rémy Rochas
At the front of the race, the breakaway was able to enjoy a maximum lead of about four minutes. Before approaching the final twenty-two-kilometre circuit, which had to be covered twice, the peloton accelerated, and the gap was reduced to two minutes. Yet, the leading group maintained good cohesion. “We wanted to wait until the very last climb to make a move,” William said. “The gap was already quite small on the penultimate time up that climb, but we were patient with Rémy, and we were convinced that with all the downhill and flat roads, it was better to stay together.” The breakaway therefore got over the Maljoyeuse hill (2 km at 6.5%) all together, then entered the last lap of the circuit, where the peloton came back to within a minute. “It was really great to have Olivier in front and he gave it his all in the final,” Rémy said. “I waited until the last climb to make an all-in effort and I went away on my own. I took a fifteen-second lead, but I got a bit stuck with the headwind towards the top. So I was caught by four guys before the downhill.” Lorenzo Milesi, Clément Izquierdo, Gianni Marchand, and Ben Swift got back into the game, while the peloton, still quite big, got over the climb less than thirty seconds later.
“Rémy was probably the fastest on paper, and it was a good idea to cooperate considering how small the gap was,” added William. Despite a few attempts, the five men remained more or less united on the downhill section up to the flamme rouge. But once the final kilometre began, tactics took over. As they started to look at each other, the peloton got dangerously close, but the five-man sprint was still launched a few seconds in front of the pack. “In the final, we were gambling to win, even if it meant losing,” said Rémy. “I decided to focus my sprint on Milesi, but looking back, I should have passed him before the last corner. He moved a little to the left, lost speed, and I was a bit blocked. I couldn’t get going again, while the others came with more momentum on the right.” At the finish line, the Frenchman had to settle for fourth place on the day, behind Izquierdo and Milesi, but also Corbin Strong, the overall winner, who came back really fast from the back. “It was a great day, but I’m a bit disappointed with the result,” said Rémy. “We came to win, and I think it was definitely possible today. I’m happy with my overall feelings and now I’m heading for the Clasica San Sebastian.”
“We can’t be too disappointed,” William Green
Lorenzo Germani (12th) and Kevin Geniets (22nd) also finished in the bunch but proved unable to make a real comeback in the overall standings (17th for the Luxembourger, 19th for the Italian, editor’s note) on this final day of racing. “We’re really happy with the way we rode throughout the week,” said William. “We knew before the start that with the composition of our team, it would be hard to fight for the overall against punchy/sprinting riders. We also had a bit of bad luck with punctures at critical moments. Nonetheless, we were offensive, we gave it a go, and to come fourth on the last day isn’t bad. We also need to recall Lewis’s two top-10 finishes. We can’t be too disappointed with the week, especially with how we rode tactically. It’s not what we hoped for, but we fought every day to get the best possible result.”
