Until the last thirty kilometres, on Sunday’s Polynormande, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team was in a rather comfortable position. With Lorenzo Germani and Valentin Madouas in a leading group of about a dozen men, a convincing result was within reach. Unfortunately, the peloton managed to come back, another breakaway formed shortly afterward without a member of the team, and this one proved decisive. Within the peloton, Valentin Madouas then took 21st place.
The traditional hilly circuit of Saint-Martin-de-Landelles, including the steep climb of la Côte de la Pigeonnière, was on the menu this Sunday for the 45th edition of the Polynormande. Before completing eleven laps, the riders had to cover thirty kilometres from Avranches, and three men took advantage of this first part of the course to hit the front. The race did not settle down, however, since barely had the circuit started, the pace increased within the pack, and everything came back together on the second lap. A real fight then took place for half an hour before eleven riders managed to go clear, including Lorenzo Germani, and the outgoing winner Paul Lapeira. “The plan was to be offensive and ride smart, because we know that the moves that go early often have a chance of making it on the Polynormande,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “Having Lorenzo in that first move was a good thing.” The breakaway formed with around 115 kilometres to go but, due to its composition, never benefited from a bigger lead than one minute. For half of the race, a constant battle took place between the front group and the pack, with a gap fluctuating between thirty and fifty seconds. With sixty kilometres to go, five laps from the finish, a big push was made in the back, the gap went down to 15 seconds, which allowed four men, including Valentin Madouas, to jump across.
“We needed for everything to come together,” Benoît Vaugrenard
Thirteen riders found themselves in front, and the gap on the peloton increased to thirty seconds. “We thought the ‘break’ was made, that this group would go all the way, as it happened in previous years,” Benoît added. “Up until that point, everything had gone well. It was perfect for us. Unfortunately, they didn’t work very well together at the front, and the bunch eventually came back.” With just over thirty kilometres to go, almost the entire breakaway, with the exception of Nicolas Breuillard, was caught by the pack, and then counterattacks occurred right after. “We were in a bit of trouble then,” Benoît confessed. “Olivier gave it a go, he was countered, and we had no one left because our youngsters had been distanced. We needed to have the numbers, but we didn’t, and so we suffered.” A five-man break formed at the front and its advantage quickly reached half a minute. Lorenzo Germani and Olivier Le Gac’s attempt to launch Valentin Madouas, two laps from the finish, didn’t prove enough. “We had to try with what we had left, but Valentin was also a bit tired and starting to get cramps,” Benoît said. Once the Breton’s attempt was neutralized, the peloton pretty much gave up, despite a few additional pulls from Olivier Le Gac.
Nicolas Prodhomme eventually claimed victory, and the pack finished almost two minutes later for sixth place. Valentin Madouas took twenty-first. “The overall result is disappointing, but we also knew we didn’t have much room for manoeuvre,” concluded Benoît. “We needed for everything to come together and for this group of thirteen to go all the way. Unfortunately, anticipation didn’t pay off this year.”