After the first three very different stages of the Tour Alsace, Groupama-FDJ’s “La Conti” is still looking for a top result. Tenth in the opening half-team prologue, seventh in Thursday’s bunch sprint thanks to the newcomer Blake Agnoletto, and finally sixteenth at the summit of La Planche des Belles Filles on Friday thanks to Maxime Decomble, the French development squad now has high expectations for the final weekend in eastern France.
On Thursday, the Tour Alsace started with the typical “opening” of the French event. Around Sausheim, each squad was indeed split in two to compete in a 4,200-meter prologue, in teams of three riders! This special stage was won by a trio from Arkéa-B&B Hotels Continentale, while the first “team” from “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ, made of Maxime Decomble, Reef Roberts and Eliott Boulet, covered the course eight seconds slower, in 5’13, which put it in tenth place on the day. As for Baptiste Grégoire, Rémi Daumas and Blake Agnoletto, they lost twenty-one seconds. “It was a bit of a particular prologue because the conditions were a bit wet,” explained Jérôme Gannat. “Given that it was quite technical, the difference was mostly made on the risk-taking in the corners. We may have been a bit cautious, but the goal wasn’t to end up on the ground… We pretty much finished where we should have, even if we could have hoped for a bit better.” On Thursday, the peloton started as a whole, from Europa-Park, and set off for 152 extremely flat kilometres to Sélestat, where Noah Hobbs triumphed last year.
“We were hoping for a little better,” Jérôme Gannat
As expected, a sprint concluded this second day of racing, after the breakaway was caught with seven kilometers to go. Blake Agnoletto, who joined the team less than a month ago, then had the opportunity to play his card and secure seventh place, while victory went to Mathias Guillemette. “It was a bit of a strange sprint,” Jérôme noted. “All the big favorites didn’t take part in the sprint because the last two kilometers were very hectic. Nonetheless, we weren’t up there enough in the final. We need to take new automatisms, but I think Blake will be able to gather people around him. He has a lot of experience and can play an important role with the younger riders.” The 22-year-old Australian set an example the very next day, on Friday, by joining the breakaway in the third stage leading to La Planche des Belles Filles. “We wanted to be at the front because we thought the yellow jersey team wouldn’t control,” added Jérôme. “Baptiste tried initially, got caught, then it went a few kilometers further on with Blake.”
The Aussie led the race from kilometre 40, all the way to the tough Col des Chevrères (3.5 km at 9.4%). As the riders approached this climb, the race was neutralized for about thirty minutes after a massive crash, but as soon as the new start was given, Blake Agnoletto was caught by the peloton, which reduced a lot before heading towards La Planche des Belles Filles. Still up there, Rémi Daumas and Maxime Decomble tried to hang on at the bottom of the final climb, but they were unable to follow the attack of the winner Markel Beloki, nor the main chasers. “On a climb like this, it comes down to legs,” said Jérôme. “They couldn’t keep up with the very best. Maxime wasn’t far behind, and he limited his losses. He was distanced two kilometres from the summit, he came back into the group fighting for second place just before the final steep section, but he then found himself back in his place. We were hoping for a little better.” The young man took 16th place on the day, forty-three seconds behind the winner, while Rémi Daumas obtained 22nd place, almost a minute behind. In the GC, Maxime Decomble is now in thirteenth place.
“We’ll need to make some moves,” Jérôme Gannat
A crucial weekend is now about to begin for “La Conti.” “Tomorrow, the start of the race won’t be easy, but we should still see a sprint at the finish, where the last 500 metres will be at 5%,” Jérôme explained. “That might suit us, and Eliott should sprint this time. Sunday will be a mountain stage with 3,500 metres of climbing over 140 kilometres, with a top finish. I think this stage suits our climbers better, as there are a series of climbs in the last sixty kilometres. When we look at the overall standings, we’re not too far off yet. There will still be a lot of action, and we’ll also need to make some moves.”
