Some things simply feel inevitable. Seeing Romain Grégoire wearing the French national champion’s jersey was one of them. Yet all the pieces of the puzzle still had to fall into place. Obsessed with and driven by the dream of the tricolour jersey, the 23-year-old rider from Besançon made it a reality in magnificent fashion on Sunday, June 28, under the scorching heat of La Tour-du-Pin. Supported by a superb Groupama-FDJ United team, who controlled the race from the very first lap to the last, the punchy rider from Franche-Comté added the final touch when it mattered most. A devastating attack on the final climb of the day earned him a solo three-kilometre ride to the finish, where he celebrated with unmistakable emotion the biggest victory of his career, also completing a remarkable double for the team at the 2026 French Championships. Next stop: Barcelona, with a brand-new kit.
“I had a good feeling about it,” smiled sports director Benoît Vaugrenard. Three days after Rémi Cavagna claimed the French time trial title, Groupama-FDJ United lined up with one objective only: to make it a championship double on the hilly circuit of La Tour-du-Pin. Reduced to fourteen laps due to the extreme heat, the race covered 225 kilometres and 3,000 metres of elevation, mainly concentrated on two key climbs: the Côte de Saint-Roch (2 km at 5%) and the Côte de Béjui (1 km at 8.5%). There was confidence, but not too much of it. “The team had been performing really well for several weeks. We were on a great run, which is the foundation of any successful performance,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “We felt this was Romain’s year. The course suited him perfectly and he had reached another level.” For that reason, Grégoire was at the centre of the team’s strategy. “We committed to one card, and one card only: Romain,” added Philippe Mauduit. “We didn’t want to gamble.” “Everything was built around Romain, but we wanted an aggressive race,” Benoît Vaugrenard added. “With 32 riders at the start, we had the biggest squad. That was both an advantage and a disadvantage because everyone expected us to control the race. The goal was to force other teams to work while making sure Romain spent as little energy as possible before the final.”
“Romain had an incredibly strong team around him” – Benoît Vaugrenard
That strategy required total commitment from every teammate, at every moment, and it showed from the opening kilometres of an aggressive race. After five laps, eight Groupama-FDJ United riders eventually made it into a thirty-man breakaway. Clément Braz Afonso, Ewen Costiou, Brieuc Rolland, Quentin Pacher, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, Valentin Madouas, Axel Huens and Rudy Molard then tried to disrupt the first group’s cohesion despite the gap went up to 2’30” around halfway through the race. “The gap was significant, but once Romain told us he was feeling great, we managed the gap from the peloton,” Benoît explained. “Of course we had some doubts, but I was always surrounded by teammates, so there was no reason to panic,” Romain Grégoire said. “It wasn’t the ideal situation, but honestly, the guys were unbelievable.” One after another, the teammates still in the peloton gradually did their part to reduce the gap. With 70 kilometres remaining, it had dropped to 1’30”, while Quentin Pacher entered a four-man lead group without pulling. “Romain had an exceptional team around him, and that deserves to be highlighted,” Benoît stressed. “Everyone was phenomenal. We covered attacks at the front, worked behind, and everything came back together at the right time. The riders in the break had been attacking for over 100 kilometres, while Romain’s group had been able to ride in a much smoother way.”
The race finally came back together with three laps remaining with about three laps to go. Only five riders were still ahead, including Quentin Pacher, before one final Groupama-FDJ United acceleration brought everything back together at the bottom of the Côte de Béjui. “We agreed that if Romain was still there with two laps to go – which we never doubted – everyone had to block the race until the final lap,” Benoît said. “It went exactly according to plan.” After Léo Bisiaux briefly threatened the team’s strategy, the Groupama-FDJ United riders remained in control before the race exploded with 19 kilometres remaining, on the côte de Béjui. “One by one, the guys emptied themselves to put me in the best possible position for the final lap,” Romain explained. “We said we’d do absolutely everything for Romain, and the team delivered an incredible performance,” Philippe added. Just before the final lap, Grégoire finally had to make his legs do the talking, following an attack from Joris Delbove alongside Paul Lapeira, Léo Bisiaux and Axel Baudin. Fortunately, his fellow rider from the Doubs department, Clément Berthet, bridged back to him in the downhill before crossing the finish line.
“The team was the first thing I thought about” – Romain Grégoire
A six-man group then established itself at the front and tried to increase its advantage as the bell announced the very last lap. Thanks to a decent collaboration, the leaders always managed to keep at least fifteen seconds of a gap, and they eventually defeated the chasing group for good with seven kilometres to go, as their advantage exceeded thirty seconds. Yet, after Paul Lapeira made an early attack, Clément Berthet and Romain Grégoire had to react immediately before the French climber emptied the tank to lead his teammate into the final climb. The côte de Béjui, once again. “Once Romain reached the final with Clément, I wasn’t really worried,” admitted Benoît. “I was quite confident if the six of them tackled the last climb together”. With 3.3 kilometres to go, Berthet completed his final pull, and one hundred metres further up, Grégoire launched a devastating acceleration which had an impact straight away. Within seconds he opened a gap, and soon enough, his competitors’ hopes were shattered. “A killer instinct,” Benoît simply summed up. By the summit of the climb, Grégoire held nearly a fifteen-second advantage, which represented an enormous gap with only two downhill kilometres remaining.
Although he remained composed on the descent, it was only after passing under the flamme rouge that the emotion truly hit him. Looking up at the television camera, he realised victory was his. Moments later, he entered the finishing straight, overwhelmed with emotion. He kissed the jersey before raising his arms in celebration of the greatest victory of his young career. Scenes of celebration immediately followed with teammates, staff and family members. A few moments later, the newly crowned French champion was obviously struggling to find words: “I don’t even know what to say. It’s incredible to achieve the victory you’ve wanted more than anything. When you’ve dreamed about it for so long, it’s even more special. It was the perfect scenario to finish alone and really enjoy the moment. A lot went through my mind in the final kilometre, but the first thing I thought about was the team. Today’s victory is truly a collective one. Everyone saw how hard the team worked all day. It was unbelievable. Every one of our 32 riders contributed to this title. This jersey belongs to them, and also to the 120 staff members who work every day all year long to put us in the best possible position.”
“We’ve enjoyed a fantastic week, we’ll savour it” – Philippe Mauduit
After finishing second in Les Herbiers in 2025, Romain Grégoire not only gained revenge in the best possible way but also achieved a milestone many expected him to reach sooner or later. It was sooner than later. “This title means everything to Romain,” Benoît said. “It was almost his main objective of the season. Becoming French champion is a career goal, just like winning Tour de France stages or the biggest Classics. This is another important step in his development. He was still missing that truly major victory, and I’m convinced this one will open many doors.” “We’re convinced we’ve got a fantastic French champion”, continued Philippe Mauduit. “We wanted this title so badly and talked about it constantly. Romain becomes even stronger when an entire team is working for him. It really gives him this extra-boost. And he has something special: an incredible hunger to win. More than anyone else.” This was surely a source of great motivation for his teammates, whose work won’t be forgotten. “Romain was outstanding, but he also owes this victory to an exceptional collective performance”, added Benoît. “We knew it would take a perfect team effort to bring home the jersey, and every single rider delivered.”
After receiving the tricolour jersey and proudly singing La Marseillaise, Grégoire invited the entire team onto the podium to celebrate together. New waves of emotion followed before some others could come in Barcelona next week. “It’s even crazier to realise I’ll spend the next three weeks of the Tour wearing the French champion’s jersey,” Romain smiled. “I think I’m about to experience an unforgettable month, and I hope to honour these colours throughout the Tour. That’s my next objective.” Philippe Mauduit concluded: “I hope this gives wings to the whole Groupama-FDJ United team. We’ve gone through difficult moments, but we overcame them with unity, enthusiasm, and passion. Things have really come together over the past two weeks. We’ve enjoyed a fantastic week with this championship double, so we’ll savour it but without resting on our laurels.”
