First Grand Tour, first breakaway… and first top 10 for Brieuc Rolland! On stage 7 of the Vuelta a España this Friday, featuring three climbs and a mountaintop finish, the young Frenchman first managed to make his way to the front after a fierce early battle. A few hours later, the leading group had the opportunity to go for the stage victory, and the Groupama-FDJ rider fought hard to secure eighth place, his first top result in a Grand Tour.
Inspired by Jay Vine’s win in Andorra the day before, many riders left the principality with a single goal in mind this Friday: to hit the front. In Cerler, after 188 kilometres, 4,200 metres of elevation gain, and a final twelve-kilometre climb averaging 6%, the breakaway had once again a big chance. While four men took advantage of a slight downhill from Andorra la Vella to escape, it was on the long and uneven climb of Port de Cantó (25 km at 4.4%) that the real battle took place. Juan Ayuso took advantage of the first kilometres of the climb, the hardest ones, to go clear. A few counterattacks occurred, including that of Brieuc Rolland, but the peloton maintained a very sustained pace behind the Spanish climber. “It was really, really hard on the first climb,” said Brieuc. “A lot of guys wanted to be in the breakaway, the pace was really high. After the first difficult part, there were maybe 30-40 riders left. I really wanted to be in front; it was the objective for the day. So when a group went as we approached the summit, I told myself that my first finish line was at the top.” The young Breton took the right move. By joining a ten-man chasing group behind Ayuso, he was then able to make it across on the descent, while other chasers were caught by the peloton.
“I couldn’t do better,” Brieuc Rolland
At the front, a twelve-man breakaway therefore went clear, with riders such as Mads Pedersen, Jay Vine, Damien Howson, Harold Tejada, and Marco Frigo alongside Brieuc Rolland. From then on, everyone “got along well,” according to the young Frenchman. The gap remained at around four minutes all day, as the breakaway tackled two more cat-2 climbs, with about 80 and 40 kilometres to go. The leading men ultimately approached the final climb to Cerler together, and with a sufficient margin to fight for victory. Juan Ayuso quickly made his move, although he had to make two attempts to fly away to victory. “It was every man for himself on the last climb,” said Brieuc. “I was on my limit quite early.” Initially present in a second chasing group, Brieuc Rolland was slightly distanced approaching the summit, but nevertheless secured a spot in the top 10. “I have no regrets,” he said. “I did the best effort I could up the climb. I couldn’t do better.” “Brieuc had a great stage,” emphasized Frédéric Guesdon. “He rode smart, and he fought well on the last climb. The peloton didn’t finish far behind, but we’ll just remember that he finished eighth!”
David Gaudu was unable to follow the favorites on Friday and reached the finish line about twelve minutes later. “He was out of legs, so he didn’t push it”, added Frédéric. “There are two weeks left to achieve great things.”
