From start to finish, Victor Loulergue maintained his remarkable consistency at the Circuit des Ardennes. After three top-10 finishes, including a podium, in the opening stages, the rider from La Conti Groupama-FDJ added two more strong results over the weekend (8th and 4th) to complete his tally. All of which secured him third place overall. A very solid week, and an encouraging sign with Liège–Bastogne–Liège U23 just around the corner.
Constantly in the mix during the first half of the race and sitting sixth overall before the weekend, Victor Loulergue faced a demanding queen stage on Saturday between Fromelennes and Hargnies. “It was a hard day, with nearly 200 kilometres, 3,600 meters of elevation gain and ten climbs,” explained Jérôme Gannat. The action got underway early, shortly after the midway point, on the tough Mont Malgré-Tout climb (3 km at 8.5%). “The peloton completely exploded at that moment,” Jérôme continued. “At the top, there were twenty-two riders left, including Victor and Rémi, then riders came back from behind and there were around fifty heading into the final.” The final was contested on a circuit to be covered three times, featuring the climbs of Hargnies and Gros Chênes. Victor Loulergue then tried to make the most of the hilly terrain. “He attacked again with more than fifty kilometers to go; they went clear as a group of twelve, but the yellow jersey followed, and everything came back together,” his sports director explained. A group of around thirty riders eventually emerged after the first two laps, and the team leader picked up three bonus seconds with twenty kilometres remaining.
“Victor may have shown too much that he was strong” – Jérôme Gannat
Shortly after, however, four riders managed to break away from the bunch. “There was a brief lull, they gained 30 seconds, then Rémi tried to close the gap on the final climb,” Jérôme added. “It came back a bit, but never to the leading four.” Among the chasers, Victor Loulergue finished 8th on the day, 27 seconds behind. “He attacked a lot and was closely marked by the others,” said Jérôme. “We were obviously a bit frustrated because we came to win, but it’s never easy when it becomes tactical. You have to sense the right move, and he may have shown too much that he was strong and wanted to win. That said, we don’t have much to regret because the effort and the intent were good. Victor also moved up to third overall, which was really positive.” Before the final stage between Sedan and Charleville-Mézières on Sunday, the 21-year-old puncheur was 41 seconds behind the race leader. There was, however, little terrain left to make a difference. “Our goal was to get into the breakaway, and Soan did just that,” Jérôme continued. “We then climbed the Mur d’Aiglemont twice (1 km at 10%). I thought it would create some gaps and a lot of movement, but it turned into a fairly classic scenario, with controlled racing for both the stage and the general classification.”
“I’m happy with the week” – Victor Loulergue
With forty kilometers to go, Victor Loulergue made one last attempt, supported by Baptiste Grégoire, but his move was brought back after a few minutes. A sprint of around 80 riders then took shape, and the young rider was again in the mix. “He did quite well, finishing fourth,” Jérôme reported. “He was a bit disappointed, though, as his pedal struck the ground in the final corner, and he lost some speed.” Nevertheless, he concluded this Circuit des Ardennes with a fifth top-10 finish in as many stages, while securing third place overall. “At the start, the goals were a top five overall and a stage win,” Jérôme recalled. “Victor finished in the top 10 every day and also won the points classification jersey. He wasn’t far off a victory, but overall, we have nothing to regret. The whole team worked for Victor, and he delivered. He’s extremely consistent, in great physical condition, and has a profile that suits this kind of terrain.” “I’m a bit disappointed not to have won because I’ve been close since the start of the season,” Victor said. “But I’m still happy with the week we had as a team. I was consistent and felt good. Even on the hardest stage, I think I was among the best. It’s encouraging for what’s next, especially Liège–Bastogne–Liège next week.”
Jérôme Gannat concluded: “It was a good week, with five intense days of racing. It’s the ideal race to prepare for Liège. Beyond the result, we’re continuing the strong collective dynamic we’ve had since the start of the season, and that’s very satisfying.”
