The Tour de l’Avenir entered its final stretch on Monday, with three stages made for the climbers. An 11.4-kilometre uphill time trial got the battle underway, and “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ United produced a strong collective showing around top 20, with Johan Blanc finishing 18th, Rémi Daumas 20th, and Soan Ruesche 23rd. The latter had already been in the spotlight the previous day during the fourth stage, where he bravely tried his luck in a breakaway towards Semur-en-Auxois, ultimately finishing 20th.
Before reaching the most significant climbs of the week, the Tour de l’Avenir peloton had one final flat stage to tackle on Sunday, covering just 150 kilometres between Saint-Vallier and Semur-en-Auxois. “As on the other stages, we were putting a lot of emphasis on the breakaway,” explained Jérôme Gannat. “We followed all the moves at the start before the right breakaway got clear after 20 kilometres. This time, it really was a good breakaway because, unlike the previous three stages, there were ten riders up the road, and we had Soan in it! We had high hopes, but they never gained more than a minute and a half. So it was almost a full-day battle between the breakaway, which was working very well together, and some teams that weren’t represented in it.” After more than two hours of racing, the breakaway riders still had just a one-minute advantage as they entered the final ten kilometres. “We got onto a really nice stretch of road, with a headwind, and the gap started to come down. Things also became a little less organized at the front,” Jérôme added. “Soan may have lost his composure a little in the final five kilometres by launching attacks that weren’t necessary, especially with the headwind.”
“Of course, we were a little disappointed” – Jérôme Gannat
The young rider from “La Conti”rider was therefore unable to make the difference, and the breakaway had only ten seconds left with two kilometres to go. “The final was very technical, first downhill and then with 600 metres of cobbles at 4.5%,” Jérôme continued. “Soan was at the front as they hit the cobbles, but because of the efforts he had made earlier, he struggled a little and was passed by some of the breakaway riders as well as a few riders from the peloton.” At the finish, Soan Ruesche had to settle for 20th place, while Aubin Sparfel took the victory after being the only rider to completely catch the day’s breakaway. “There was probably a little more we could have done because the finish suited Soan well, given his qualities as a cyclo-cross rider and puncheur,” his sports director admitted. “He may have paid for his youth and the excitement of racing for the win. He wanted to do well and give himself the best possible chance, but you always have to take a step back in those situations, and that will serve him well in the future. More generally, we came away frustrated because we were still in the mix, but only picked up a few scraps. We were aggressive throughout the first part of the Tour de l’Avenir, but we are a little too far back when you look at the results. We knew that breakaways were our only chance of winning, so we went all in, but unlike in previous years, the peloton controlled the race more tightly.”
On Monday, however, the peloton could have no influence, as the riders tackled the Tour de l’Avenir’s only individual time trial, an uphill test from Les Carroz to Flaine (11.4 km at 6.4%). It was obviously an extremely important day for the general classification contenders, and favourite Lorenzo Finn left his mark by winning in 25 minutes and 47 seconds. For “La Conti”, Johan Blanc was the team’s best finisher in 18th place, 1’53 behind the Italian winner. Rémi Daumas, meanwhile, had to settle for 20th place on the day, despite recording the sixth-fastest time at the intermediate checkpoint halfway up the climb. “Of course, we are a little disappointed,” Jérôme summed up. “We are still well represented around 20th place, which isn’t too bad, but we are not with the best riders. I think Rémi’s place is more in the top 10, as his intermediate time proves. You had to start at that pace to get there, but he faded a little in the final section. We know that straight climbs aren’t where he performs at his best, but he was still less effective in the second half of the climb.” Behind his two teammates, Soan Ruesche finished 23rd on the stage and sits 20th overall on Monday evening, 4:07 behind the race leader and just ahead of Rémi Daumas.
The standings could nevertheless be reshuffled on Tuesday during the queen stage of the 2026 Tour de l’Avenir. “It’s a major mountain stage, with the Col des Saisies, the Cormet de Roselend and the Col de l’Iseran,” Jérôme explained. “There will be almost 5,000 metres of elevation gain. Rémi will have to stay with the best riders, while the others can afford to race more aggressively.”
