In a frantic and fiercely contested stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, Brieuc Rolland gained quite some experience on Tuesday. The young Frenchman managed to join a strong breakaway after a tough battle at the start, then challenged for victory a few hours later into Charantonnay. On the limit in the final kilometres, he ultimately secured a convincing seventh place, which is his best result at the WorldTour level. He now sits in the same position in the general classification.
From Brioude this Tuesday, the peloton immediately got into the thick of things, with nearly fifteen kilometres of climbing to kick off the third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Unsurprisingly, the fight for the breakaway proved harsh right away, the peloton exploded after a few minutes, and it took more than an hour to finally see a group go clear. “The goal was really not to miss the breakaway, which could make it today,” explained Brieuc Rolland. “It was a very hard start, and I chose to stay calm until the top of the climb. In any case, it was going so fast that it was difficult to create any gaps. That’s what happened. After the intermediate sprint, the peloton stopped a bit, and I went away in a second move with Axel Laurance and Ivan Romeo. And it was on.” “Given the profile, we knew that the breakaway would be solid, that it would therefore be hard to get into it and that it was going to be a big fight,” added Benoît Vaugrenard. “So congratulations to Brieuc, who played his cards right.” After thirty kilometres, the former rider of “La Conti” found himself in the lead with twelve other men, but the breakaway had to push for another fifteen kilometres to finally see the gap get over the one-minute mark.
“I’ve never done such a hard race,” Brieuc Rolland
With Florian Lipowitz on the front, the favourites’ teams never gave the breakaway more than two minutes of a lead. “At first, I was even a bit upset because I thought he might be a thorn in our side, but Fred reassured me all day and told me to believe in it,” Brieuc said. “It wasn’t until very late, with about forty kilometres to go, that I realized that we were going to make it.” Thanks to a good collaboration, the day’s fugitives, including Mathieu van der Poel, Julien Bernard, Harold Tejada, and Andreas Leknessund, managed to resist the chase led by the bunch. Fifty kilometres from the finish line, the gap was one minute and thirty seconds, and it was only reduced by a third before approaching the final climb, located twenty kilometres from the finish. “I tried to recover before the climb, because it was starting to be a long day for me and these aren’t efforts I’m used to,” confessed Brieuc. “I knew my first finish line was at the top of this climb, so I had to give it my all.” On the steep côte du Château Jaune (1.2 km at 9.5%), three men managed to take a few metres, three others were definitively dropped, while Brieuc Rolland found himself in a second group, with Van der Poel.
After a fast downhill, the Dutchman bridged across to the leaders, but Brieuc Rolland needed a few more kilometres to get back on the right group. This is how ten men found themselves fighting for the win entering the last ten kilometres. Accelerations and counterattacks followed one another, and the young man from Groupama-FDJ tried to enter some of the moves. With five kilometres to go, Ivan Romeo finally got away in a sneaky way, no one chased him down right away, and the gap was made. The Spaniard won the race, three men broke away for the remaining places on the podium, and Brieuc Rolland took seventh, behind Van der Poel and Laurance. “I don’t think I’ve ever done such a hard race,” he said shortly after the finish. “From the top of the hill to the sprint, I couldn’t really stand on the pedals because I had cramps. It was a tough fight at the end, and I was on the limit, so I have no regrets.” “Tactically, we wanted to wait until the last two kilometres before making a move,” added Benoît. “We had to take the risk of waiting, even if it meant losing, but Romeo played it well and was very strong.”
“Brieuc learned a lot today,” Benoît Vaugrenard
Nevertheless, the 21-year-old will long remember this breakaway in his first Critérium du Dauphiné. “You always hope for better, but cycling has become so hard that you don’t often get the opportunity to fight for the win with five kilometers to go,” said Brieuc. “I’m happy with what I did, and I gained experience”. “He learned a lot today, being at the front, racing for victory,” confirmed Benoît. “It was a great stage for him, especially since it was fast all day, in the heat, over 210 kilometres. It was a good day, and the others were also there in the peloton.” Paul Penhoët indeed finished fifteenth in the stage, while Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet also finished in the main pack. The French climber will face his first test on Wednesday in the race’s only time trial. “It’s shorter than in previous years, with eighteen kilometers, but there’s a nice climb in the middle,” Benoît concluded. “Rémi is obviously motivated, and Guillaume will also do his best for the overall.”
