The blue-white-red jersey was back in action this Saturday. Like last year, Valentin Madouas pinned his first bib on the Vuelta a Murcia. And like last year, his first race of the season ended with a top-5 finish. On a different course, the Frenchman was up there again, and won a small group sprint for fifth place. With his teammates, he will compete in the Clasica de Almeria on Sunday, which should suit the sprinters.
Like Lewis Askey, Olivier Le Gac and Clément Russo, Valentin Madouas started his 2024 season in Spain this Saturday. In the Murcia region, a hard course of almost 200 kilometers awaited him. Three climbs were listed throughout the day, and although the riders could enjoy a bright sun, the weather conditions were not perfect. “We knew that there was a lot of wind, and the first seventy kilometers were in an open area,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “We needed to be careful, even if we were far from the finish line.” In the end, this first part of the race just made it possible for a breakaway to go, with Tosh van der Sande (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar), Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty), Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R), Andoni Lopez De Abetxuko (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies), Ward Vanhoof (Flanders-Baloise), Juan David Sierra (Tudor) and Alex Molenaar (Illes Balears). The peloton really eased off, and the break tackled the Alto de Aledo/Alto Calledo Bermejo Cima sequence, after seventy kilometres, with a six-minute lead. “We had to pay attention in this long climb because we didn’t know if some teams wanted to get rid of the sprinters” added Frédéric. “This is exactly what happened. The race opened up, and the best attacked.”
“For a first race, it’s quite positive”, Valentin Madouas
Alongside the Vuelta winner Sepp Kuss, a few riders were able to make a gap in these thirteen kilometers uphill, while Valentin Madouas joined a second chase group. Only the first one eventually managed to bridge across with the original leaders, Which led to a dozen riders breakaway. In the back, a bunch of fifty men or so got back together. “Movistar and Ineos worked hard to bring it back,” explained Frédéric. “We didn’t chase too much because Valentin wasn’t feeling super. We stayed in the wheels, and Clément and Lewis protected Valentin at the front because it was windy.” In the last sixty kilometers, the gap fluctuated around one minute and thirty seconds for a long time. However, after Tim Wellens and Ben O’Connor attacked together from the breakaway with forty kilometres to go, the peloton struggled to get back some time. It finally got to the bottom of the last climb, the Alto Cresta del Gallo (4.3 km at 6.5%), more than a minute later. In the lead O’Connor got rid of Wellens then headed to Murcia for the last eight kilometers on the flat. Within the peloton, Jan Tratnik managed to make a gap on the climb, while Valentin Madouas entered the following group.
The French champion eventually showed up in the final straight for fifth place. “Kwiatkowski attacked three kilometers from the finish, but Valentin won the sprint from his group,” explained Frédéric. “It was a hard race today. From the climb onwards, it was full gas until the finish. For a return to racing, it’s a very nice race and it’s promising for him.” “It was a really, really tough race, with climbs and a lot of wind,” commented Valentin. “It couldn’t be much harder for a return to racing. I was struggling a bit at the start of the race, which is normal with the lack of rhythm. On the last climb, I felt good. I was still missing a little something, but it makes sense given all the efforts we made during the day. For a first race, it’s quite positive. I’m happy with the feelings and I hope to do great things soon. Tomorrow, I will support the sprinters.” Fifth to start his season, Valentin Madouas will complete his Spanish weekend with the Clasica de Almeria. “Given the course and the field of sprinters, it should be a bunch sprint,” concluded Frédéric. “Anyway, everyone did their job today and was where we expected them to be.”
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