As defending champion, the Groupama-FDJ United’s development team, “La Conti”, had hoped to conclude its 2026 season on a high note at Sunday’s Paris-Tours Espoirs, one week after a great performance at the U23 Il Lombardia. Unfortunately, although Victor Loulergue and his teammates played an active role in the race across the vineyard paths and the various climbs, their efforts did not translate into a top result. Part of a chasing group behind the day’s winner, the 21-year-old rider had to settle for a frustrating seventeenth place at the finish.
Just an hour before the « big boys », the U23 competitors also took to the start on Sunday for Paris-Tours, facing a final totally identical to that of the elite race. Nine climbs and ten gravel sectors awaited them, and Groupama-FDJ United’s “La Conti”, which had secured a one-two finish in 2025 with Maxime Decomble and Reef Roberts, was determined to make the most of the course. “There wasn’t much wind, so the pace was very high from the start,” explained Tanguy Turgis. “As we approached the first sector, Karl Sagnier did a great job positioning the guys before unfortunately being caught up in a crash. The plan was then to attack on a sequence of a climb and a gravel sector with around 25 kilometres to go. Johan was supposed to protect the others while remaining attentive through the transition sections, before Esteban was to launch the team’s collective effort, with Soan and Victor on his wheel. We were missing Soan, but Victor was very strong and attacked the climb really well, just as planned.”
“Victor felt he was among the three strongest riders” – Tanguy Turgis
With the perfect lead-out, the French puncheur tried to break clear and briefly managed to get away with a handful of riders. However, shortly after launching his attack, the young “La Conti” rider found himself caught in a tactical trap. “Victor was very disappointed because, after asking for a turn at the front, Hector Alvarez came through, but the two rivals on his wheel decided to stay there and not to follow Alvarez,” Tanguy explained. “Victor had done a great job of making the difference thanks to the team’s effort, but Alvarez more or less slipped away without pushing. On the next climb, Victor attacked again and caught the small breakaway that had gone clear earlier, but Alvarez was already away.” Without any real support, Victor Loulergue then found himself isolated in a chasing group of around twenty riders. “He tried one last time on the final climb but the others jumped on his wheel. Instead of continuing to work together to close the 15-second gap to Alvarez, they started looking at one another,” Tanguy added.
The European champion was therefore able to consolidate his lead and ride on to victory. Fifty seconds later, the chasing group came to contest the remaining positions, but Victor Loulergue was unable to turn his strong legs into a result. “He got his sprint completely wrong and finished seventeenth,” Tanguy commented. “He was disappointed because he wanted to bring home a result for the team, which performed excellently and took responsibility throughout the race. It’s a real shame because he felt good today and believed he was among the three strongest riders in the race. It’s frustrating because the team raced extremely well but wasn’t rewarded for its efforts. We might have preferred to end the season with a big result by keeping a lower profile, but what we’ll mainly remember is the team’s commitment and willingness to take the initiative.”
