The Groupama-FDJ United Cycling Team rounded off the second week of the Vuelta in very solid fashion this weekend. Thanks to Clément Berthet and Bastien Tronchon, two more top-10 finishes were added to the team’s tally. The French climber claimed sixth place at the summit of the Sierra de la Pandera on Saturday, following a breakaway alongside Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, while his puncheur teammate seized his opportunity in Córdoba, with Enzo Paleni’s support, to take seventh place on Sunday. Ahead of the final week, Clément Berthet and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet also sit ninth and 13th respectively in the general classification.
Before reaching the second rest day, the peloton faced two demanding stages this weekend, challenging not only because of their profiles. It all began with the more mountainous of the two on Saturday, with a summit finish at the Sierra de la Pandera after 154 kilometres and more than 4,000 metres of elevation gain. The pattern from the previous day, which had seen a large breakaway form after a fierce battle from the start, was repeated, and the Groupama-FDJ United team’s two climbers were once again involved. “We had to be vigilant, especially with regard to our direct rivals,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “Some of them attacked, so Clément and Guillaume followed them into this 45-man breakaway. The risk with this kind of breakaway is that there are a lot of attacks, which is much more demanding for the legs. In the end, the group managed its effort fairly well, which was good for us. On top of that, one rider went clear with 50 kilometres to go, and that was a good situation because the teams that had numbers in the group had to chase, which meant the pace remained consistently high. It was all beneficial for us. We only had two riders, so we had to be defensive and simply wait.” In particular, Clément Berthet and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet had to bide their time until the toughest, but also the most decisive, climb of the day: the final one.
“Clément and Guillaume showed that they are in very good shape” – Benoît Vaugrenard
At the foot of the Sierra de la Pandera (12 km at 7.5%), the breakaway had built up a substantial time advantage over the peloton and was therefore assured of fighting for the stage victory. With ten kilometres remaining, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet first launched an attack to bridge across to the rider out front. “He anticipated the steepest section, which was a smart move,” Benoît continued. “After that, it was all about the legs.” With six kilometres remaining to the summit, a group of around ten riders regrouped at the front, including the two Groupama-FDJ United representatives. Clément Berthet briefly tried his luck one kilometre later before everyone was left to fend for themselves over the final four kilometres. Riding at his pace, Clément Berthet managed to reach the finish in sixth place, just 27 seconds behind winner Marco Brenner, while his teammate took 11th place. “Clément was just missing a little bit to follow Rodriguez in particular, but it was decided by very fine margins,” Benoît said. “In any case, it was a good day. We gained time on several rivals and Clément moved up to ninth overall. In such intense heat, it is never easy to attack again from one day to the next, but Clément and Guillaume showed that they are in very good shape.”
Before the week’s final battle, the general classification appeared somewhat frozen ahead of Thursday’s individual time trial. However, the cards were reshuffled on Sunday following the announcement of a route change for Stage 15 due to the extreme heat. Instead of the 190 kilometres originally planned to Córdoba, the riders had just 110 kilometres to cover on a day that promised to be intense. “It was more than 40 degrees, it was truly hellish,” Benoît said. “It was a stage that could have been tricky, with lots of small, winding roads as well as the heat. We didn’t know what Visma-Lease a Bike were going to do, so Enzo was instructed to follow the attacks for the first 20 kilometres.” The young Frenchman followed those instructions, and actually went one better, because after two unsuccessful attempts, he was the one who formed the day’s successful breakaway after ten kilometres of racing. However, the team of Brennan and Van Aert never allowed the nine escapees more than a one-minute advantage, inevitably bringing them back together with around 30 kilometres remaining, despite a severely reduced peloton. “We suffered all day behind,” Bastien Tronchon admitted. “Visma-Lease a Bike’s strategy was to make things difficult for the other sprinters, and it worked very well.”
“We would have signed up for such a week” – Benoît Vaugrenard
However, the sprint option moved further away when Wout Van Aert and three other riders caught the lone remaining breakaway rider after the intermediate sprint. “Van Aert didn’t have many teammates left, so he went on the attack,” Benoît explained. “We still had Enzo, our two climbers, and Bastien. They were caught a little off guard by Van Aert’s move, and behind them it immediately became a split because the favourites were more than happy to let it go and finish the stage quietly.” Unfortunately, Groupama-FDJ United missed this first group, as well as another one that went clear moments later. “I wanted to be too cautious, and when the move went, the door closed and I found myself blocked,” Bastien recounted. “Then I thought I had nothing to lose by trying.” The French rider therefore launched a counter-attack alongside Enzo Paleni with around 25 kilometres remaining. “They reacted pretty well because it was really the last moment to go, and Enzo was incredibly strong in getting back up the road with Bastien,” Benoît added. The duo nevertheless had to spend a long time chasing in no man’s land before catching the main chasing group with just five kilometres remaining. “We made a huge effort with Enzo,” Bastien said. “I was lucky that he followed me, because I wouldn’t have made it back without him.”
Although the five-man front group was not caught, Bastien Tronchon was nevertheless able to contest sixth place in the sprint, ultimately taking seventh. “I’m in the top 10 again, but it could have been better,” he regretted. “It’s a shame because I was having a great day, but I was always a little late.” “We came through it well; they corrected the situation nicely, and it was courageous to go back on the attack like that, especially in the heat,” Benoît continued. “It shows that the group is doing well. Bastien was still there when there were only 40 riders left, which proves that he is riding well and recovering very well. He was a little disappointed to have missed the decisive move, but it was still a good day on a very difficult stage.” Clément Berthet retained his ninth place overall, while Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet gained one position to move up to 13th. This brought to a close a highly productive week for Groupama-FDJ United, with one stage victory and three top-10 finishes to its name. “We would have signed up for that,” Benoît concluded. “The stage win was extraordinary, then we always had riders in the breakaways and gained a little time in the general classification. It was a very good week. We knew it was full of opportunities for breakaways. We had to be really attentive and avoid getting caught out, and that’s what we did. We’re now heading into a third week that will probably follow a more traditional pattern.”
