The final day of racing in the Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine, heading towards Poitiers, did not have any major impact on the overall standings this Friday. After 185 kilometres of racing, an uphill sprint eventually concluded the event, and Cyril Barthe managed to grab a solid fourth place. As for Eliott Boulet and Enzo Paleni, they secured their ninth and tenth places on GC.
The fourth and final stage of the Tour Poitou-Charentes in Nouvelle Aquitaine didn’t include proper difficulties on Friday. With the exception of the uphill finish in Poitiers (800m at 5%), to be repeated four times on the local circuit, the day presented few obstacles. This is why a fairly usual scenario quickly took shape at the start of La Rochefoucauld. “We were careful not to miss a big move, but once the breakaway went, we focused on the sprint and on Cyril,” explained Philippe Mauduit. Five riders led the way at the front but were quite easily controlled by the peloton. Entering the finish circuit, with about fifty kilometres to go, the gap was even less than two minutes. However, the chase continued until the approach of the final lap, thirteen kilometres from the finish. Everything came back together, but a five-rider attack immediately emerged, including Enzo Paleni. “Unfortunately for him, there were two riders who weren’t working,” Philippe added. “The group wasn’t very organized. They covered about ten kilometers with a lead of about ten seconds, but they didn’t have a chance to make it to the finish.” With two kilometres left to go, the young Groupama-FDJ rider’s move was therefore neutralized. The expected sprint thus took place.
“It’s a good return to racing for Cyril,” Philippe Mauduit
“This time, the team managed to bring Cyril into the sprint,” Philippe insisted. “We could rely on Eddy and Clément to set up the train, everyone did their part, and at the finish, we were satisfied with the job done.” Usually a lead-out man, the Frenchman gave it his all in this slightly uphill finish. “I didn’t want to have any regrets and I wanted to make the best possible effort,” he explained. “I opened with 200 metres to go and was caught by three riders less than 50 metres from the finish line. Unfortunately, this is not a victory, but I’m still happy with this result to finish this week. I didn’t know where I was at the start, but the feelings slowly came back, and it was much better today. I’m also very happy with the team, who did a super job today. We wanted to set a good momentum, to finish well, and we really raced at the front”. “It’s really satisfying to compete for the win, especially when it’s thanks to a team effort,” Philippe added. “The goal wasn’t achieved, but the attitude was the right one. Cyril raced to win and was rewarded with a fourth-place finish. It may be negligible for some, but he’s coming back after an abandon on the Tour de France and a concussion. It’s a good return to racing. He was in the mix, fighting, and he wasn’t afraid, which is also important.”
On this final day, Eliott Boulet and Enzo Paleni also secured their ninth and tenth places in the general classification. “It’s a positive week, even if the results aren’t particularly impressive,” Philippe concluded. “There are reasons to be satisfied. First of all, Lewis Bower won the intermediate sprints classification. He’s still a young rider, who’s only been with us since June, and he went for it! Blake was taking part in his first race with the WorldTeam, Eliott in his first stage race, and the freshness of the young guns brought vitality to this group. With Clément, Eddy, Cyril, and Enzo, they didn’t make a conservative race. I saw a combative spirit. Regarding yesterday, Anthony studied all the time trial data, and we realized that some riders didn’t get the same wind conditions. Unfortunately for Enzo, he started at the worst time. He was disappointed with his tenth place, but after studying the data, we can consider that his performance was much better. We must take that into account, and not only look at the ranking. He showed that he’s in very good shape. I think he is gradually coming of age and that he will become an important member of the team.”
