The 2026 season, already well underway on several fronts, found its first French appointment this Sunday at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Marseille–La Marseillaise. On a new course, racing opened up early, with the Groupama-FDJ United Cycling Team remaining attentive throughout the day before a reduced bunch sprint ultimately decided the winner. In that scenario, young Victor Loulergue, usually a rider of the development team, claimed a solid sixth place, while Axel Huens, making his debut in his new colours, finished eleventh.
As tradition dictates, Marseille was set to host the start of the season on French soil, as well as the opening round of the FDJ United Series, the new name for the French Cup calendar. This year’s peloton, however, faced an easier route compared to previous editions, with 145 kilometres on the day’s menu. A change that was not without consequences. “It had been ten years since we last raced this course, without the Route des Crêtes,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “So we expected a large group sprint at the finish, but we still needed to stay alert because when the course is a bit less demanding, racing can start from far out. That’s exactly what happened on the technical descent of the Espigoulier, where we knew splits were possible.” With 60 kilometres to go, as the race passed through Gémenos, a group of around thirty riders—five of them from the Groupama-FDJ United —had clearly broken away. “It was pretty well done,” Benoît continued. “It’s just a shame we were missing Ewen. We knew there would be some other moves from then on, so we stayed vigilant and managed to place Axel in a new group. It would have been even better if it had been Lorenzo or Maxime, but in the heat of the moment it’s never easy.”
“There was room to do better” – Benoît Vaugrenard
Within a group of eleven riders, newcomer Axel Huens primarily focused on defending the team’s collective interests. “He wasn’t supposed to pull,” Benoît added, “but he preferred to take short turns from time to time because he had to close splits by staying at the back of the group. That group gained about forty seconds, but the peloton was pulling hard behind and the gap would never have been enough to make it over the Gineste anyway.” The day’s final climb, the Col de la Gineste, put an end to Paul Lapeira’s escape, while the peloton remained all together despite a few late attacks. “Ewen tried, but it was a bit of a lost cause,” Benoît admitted. “I’ve never seen anyone attack on the Gineste with a headwind and go on to win. So we had to focus on the sprint.” Three riders did animate the run-in back to Marseille, but they were caught shortly before the flamme rouge. “Cyril and Axel were both supposed to sprint,” Benoît added. “We had decided to wait as long as possible with the headwind, but there were still a lot of riders, and it wasn’t easy to find space. We knew the right-hand side was the place to be, and that’s exactly where Coquard came through.”
“I tried to lead out Axel and Cyril—they were on my wheel, and I was myself on Coquard’s wheel,” explained Victor Loulergue. “Unfortunately, they couldn’t find an opening behind me to come through.” The 21-year-old rider from the development team therefore maintained his effort and managed to fight his way to sixth place on the day. Axel Huens (11th) and Cyril Barthe (16th) finished a little further back. “It’s a shame, because if they’d been able to find a gap in the sprint, the result would have been better,” Victor added. “We’re a bit frustrated with the day because I think there was room to do better,” Benoît confirmed. “It’s unfortunate our sprinters couldn’t get out of the pack, but Victor did a good job of salvaging something from the day. Even if the result isn’t what we were hoping for, I take away the commitment of the whole team. All seven of our riders were in the peloton, including two from “La Conti”. We had an impact in the race. Now there are just a few small details left to fine-tune so we can perform as well as possible at Bessèges.”
