“La Conti” Groupama-FDJ United came close to victory several times at the Ronde de l’Isard last week, but the wait was more than worth it. On Sunday, during the fifth and final stage, Rémi Daumas produced a monumental solo raid of more than 85 kilometers through the Pyrenean mountain passes to claim a stunning victory. Finishing fifth overall as well, he capped off a strong week for “La Conti,” which was ever-present at the front across every terrain.
Before the queen stage scheduled for Sunday, the first showdown among the general classification contenders took place on Friday atop the Col de Pailhères. After a series of rolling climbs, the decisive challenge was a 10-kilometer ascent at 8%, expected to establish an initial hierarchy among the strongest riders. It was a moment “La Conti” had been eagerly awaiting. “We wanted to make the race hard and ride a hard tempo for Rémi, because that’s the kind of rhythm where he performs best,” explained Tanguy Turgis. “From the first climbs, Eliott did a great job, Soan took over, then Lidl-Trek moved to the front, but in a setup very similar to what we wanted.” The selection was therefore made from the back before the final ascent began, where Rémi Daumas showed his intentions early on. “I think he should have been a little more patient,” Tanguy continued. “He attacked in the first part of the climb, which was a small mistake because there was a headwind. Then, five kilometers from the summit, he attacked again but got countered.” Briton Huw Buck Jones then broke away alone, while the young climber from “La Conti” limited his losses by taking fourth place at the summit, 51 seconds behind. “The winner was the strongest, but without those two early attacks, Rémi might have been able to grab second or third place,” said Tanguy. “There was a little disappointment, but the riders had the right attitude.”
“I wanted to attack from far out to overturn the GC” – Rémi Daumas
However, victory continued to slip away from “La Conti,” which after three days of racing had accumulated one podium, one top-5, and two top-10 finishes. Stage 4 looked like a strong opportunity to finally make it happen. “I told the riders at the start of the week that we had to be aggressive on this stage,” Tanguy explained. “I didn’t really believe in a sprint because the stage was harder than expected and nobody really had the means to control it. In fact, the first hour was raced at an average of 47 km/h, and the breakaway only formed after 70 kilometres.
Eliott bridged across with a small counterattack, and we told him not to work because there were teams with numbers in the group, along with the rider sitting fifth overall. We weren’t going to help him take time on Rémi.” With around twenty kilometres to go, the breakaway seemed on course to fight for victory, but Briton Mattie Dodd anticipated his rivals up front. “When he attacked, we hoped the teams with numbers would chase, but unfortunately there wasn’t any cooperation,” Tanguy added. “
Eliott tried to organize the pursuit, but it wasn’t enough. Still, he was clearly the fastest and finished second on the stage by winning the sprint behind. We were obviously disappointed because he had been very strong all week, but he couldn’t really have raced it differently. Sometimes you do everything right and things still don’t go your way, but we had to keep pushing.”
After another near miss, only one chance remained to avoid leaving the Ronde de l’Isard empty-handed. But to do so, the riders had to conquer 4,300 meters of climbing and five categorized ascents between Lavelanet and Saint-Girons on Sunday’s huge queen stage. “The plan was to get riders into the breakaway so Rémi would have satellite riders up the road,” Tanguy said. “There was a big battle to get into the move, and Johan and Soan ended up in a counterattack. If there was still a breakaway in the Port de Lers, Rémi was supposed to attack and use his teammates’ support until the base of the final climb, ideally. If there wasn’t a breakaway anymore, it was up to him to decide. The safest option was to wait for the final climb, but Rémi held the cards.” The attackers were eventually caught early on the Port de Lers, the favorites quickly found themselves head-to-head, and Rémi Daumas then seized his chance more than 85 kilometres from the finish. “He really felt stronger than the others and simply rode them off his wheel,” Tanguy explained. “It was the stage I liked most on paper with that succession of climbs,” Rémi commented. “I had planned to attack in the Port de Lers. Initially, I wanted to go from far out to overturn the GC, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to find myself alone at the summit!”
“If he did that, it’s because he believed he could win that way” – Tanguy Turgis
Yet the French climber truly established himself as the strongest rider of the day, quickly extending his lead to thirty seconds, then one minute at the top of the Col d’Agnès despite a bike change, and even more than two minutes after the next climb, the Col de Latrape – all after already spending 30 kilometres alone off the front. On the final difficulty of the day, the Col de la Core (14 km at 6%), and despite a valley section beforehand, the rider from Arles still held a solid advantage over the organized yellow jersey group chasing behind. “I struggled a bit near the top,” he admitted. “I came over the summit with 1’15 of a gap, but I knew it was still possible with the descent and the downhill false flat.” Yet, there were still thirty kilometres remaining. “At that point, I was still thinking about the GC, but Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Cyclisme still had three riders left to work in the valley,” Tanguy explained. “On the other hand, I was fairly confident about the stage victory because they had no interest in catching Rémi considering the time bonuses.” Still, with barely one minute of advantage entering the final ten kilometers, Rémi Daumas had no choice but to dig deep all the way to the line. “It was extremely stressful,” continued his sports director. “We feared the worst-case scenario, but we remained optimistic. Above all, Rémi never cracked. He was incredibly solid throughout the final”.“There was good cooperation behind, and with the headwind, the last fifteen kilometers felt very, very long,” Rémi added.
But the worst-case scenario was ultimately avoided, and after more than two hours of masterful solo riding in the Pyrenees, Rémi Daumas triumphed at the finish. “I couldn’t keep enough of an advantage to overturn the GC, but I secured the stage win, and that’s already something,” he said with relief. “It was hard and long, but I made it! I felt strong today and wanted to seize the opportunity.” “It was actually Rémi himself who suggested at the briefing that he should attack from far out, and I could tell he was incredibly motivated by the plan,” Tanguy recalled. “The moment he attacked, there was no way I was going to tell him it was too early. I preferred that we go all-in, because that’s what he wanted to do. For me, a rider has to imagine himself winning. If he did that, it’s because he believed he could win that way. It was admittedly a bit suicidal, but it was possible… provided he could be exceptional. And he was. There are no words to describe his performance. He rode 85 kilometres alone at the front and barely lost any time except in the final valley with the headwind. You don’t experience many days like that in a career. I almost want to say we ‘only’ get with the stage win, because what he did deserved so much more… But at least we got that victory.”
“It rewards the work of the whole team”‑ Rémi Daumas
That memorable success, along with Rémi Daumas’ fifth place overall, ultimately completed a successful Ronde de l’Isard for “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ United. “It gives meaning and consistency to the whole week,” concluded Tanguy. “Today, Rémi did something absolutely crazy, but it truly rewards the entire team because every rider in the group delivered performances, except Reef, who unfortunately crashed. That was our strength. We performed at a very high level every day, and perseverance paid off. I’m extremely proud of the team, the staff, and the attitude the riders showed this week. I saw riders with huge potential, and I hope they keep going this way.” “We raced incredibly well all week,” Rémi concluded. “We waited until the last stage to finally pull it off, but the important thing is that we did get it. Above all, it rewards the great race the team rode. Every rider who finished achieved a top-10 result. That shows the strength of our collective and the confidence we had in each rider.”