And that’s two in a row! Just one day after claiming his first professional victory, Maxime Decomble doubled up on Friday by securing overall victory at the fourth and final stage of the TPC en Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Attentive in the final, the young Frenchman finished 12th in the main bunch, thereby securing the first stage-race victory of his career. The Groupama-FDJ United Cycling Team continues its excellent run of form, one week after Ewen Costiou’s overall victory at the Tour du Limousin.
In Poitiers, after the 185 kilometres scheduled on Friday’s final stage, overall victory in the “TPC in Nouvelle-Aquitaine” was within Maxime Decomble’s grasp, 24 hours after his dominant victory in the individual time trial. However, he still had to remain vigilant on a course featuring several exposed sections and a punchy finishing circuit. “The start of the race was obviously crucial in controlling the breakaway,” explained William Green. “Ideally, we wanted it to be made of just five riders, but the start was extremely nervous and eventually a group of seven got away. Fortunately, they went after 50 or 60 kilometres, which left only 80 kilometres to go before the finishing circuit. Blake managed the situation, and we knew Johan would be a major asset, particularly in the wind. When the gap came down too much, we stopped riding, and that was the right decision. Then we entered a section with a crosswind, the race became harder, but we controlled the situation. Once we reached the final circuit, Rémi set the pace before Cofidis took over at the front in preparation for the sprint.” As the riders began the three laps of the Poitiers circuit, the breakaway had only a one-minute-and-thirty-second advantage, and that gap logically continued to reduce as the finish approached.
“It’s very important for me to be fighting at the front” – Maxime Decomble
Before the final lap, the gap was down to just 25 seconds. “Our priority was to make sure Maxime wasn’t put in danger during the final,” William explained. “Decathlon-CMA CGM tried an attack, and we had to use the team during the final five kilometres to neutralise the move, just in case, before finishing in a sprint.” The sprint was extremely disorganized and ultimately involved only a small group of around thirty riders, with Paul Penhoët unable to really take part. “The entire team was focused on the overall classification, which leaves little room for a dual strategy,” William continued. “In any case, the priority was to win the overall classification, and that’s what we did.” Having remained in the front group, three seconds behind stage winner Milan Fretin, Maxime Decomble secured overall victory, built primarily on his performance the previous day. “This is my first overall victory in a stage race,” he said. “It’s huge, and I’m very happy. The beginning of the season was a little difficult mentally because I wasn’t fighting for the top places on a calendar that was mainly WorldTour level. However, that helped me take a step forward. The team managed my progression very well, and it’s very important for me to be fighting at the front and to turn that into results during this second half of the season.”
With this overall victory, Groupama-FDJ United now has eleven wins in 2026, four of them coming in the last ten days. “The momentum is excellent,” concluded William Green. “We’re very satisfied with what we achieved in the opening stage. On the second stage, we were missing a little something, and there was for sure some disappointment after Rémi lost time. Fortunately, Maxime produced an incredible time trial and delivered an exceptional performance. The team is obviously very proud of Maxime, but also of the way we raced throughout the week. We managed the situation really well, particularly today. We need to keep this momentum going. It’s fantastic to follow up the victory at the Tour du Limousin, and we have to enjoy it, because this kind of run doesn’t happen very often.”
