Since last Thursday, “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ has been riding on the roads of Brittany in what is one of the most important events of the season. On the Tour de Bretagne, Jérôme Gannat’s young men have so far collected two podiums and a top-5 finish in just four stages. Since the general classification is no longer in sight after a “bad day” on Saturday, the French squad now has its eyes on a stage victory.
Twenty-five teams, including most of the development squads, were present in Locmaria-Plouzané last Thursday for the launch of the 2024 Tour de Bretagne. The first stage, towards Plougonvelin, did not feature any major difficulty, and a bunch sprint indeed awarded the first leader’s jersey. “It was a nervous and short stage, along the coast,” explained Alex Chouffe. “It was very beautiful, but also very dangerous and there were a lot of crashes. It did finish in a sprint, and we had set up the train for Noah. Unfortunately, with 300m to go, his lead-out man Lewis crashed, which slowed him down a bit. He still managed to finish third, but without this crash, I think victory was possible. The winner, Teutenberg, was very strong, but Noah had the legs to win, I’m sure of it. It’s a shame, victory wasn’t far away.” The 19-year-old Briton nevertheless allowed “La Conti” to begin the race on the right foot, and also took his first personal podium of the season.
“We have to be a bit more aggressive”, Jérôme Gannat
On Friday, the second stage seemed more selective in Pontivy, where the final ten-kilometre circuit, to be completed five times, had almost no flat sections. “We had planned to put someone in the break, but the guys didn’t get the right move and we didn’t succeed from this point of view,” explained Alex. “Then, we suffered on the final circuit.” A lone man, Alexis Guérin, eventually managed to stay away from a reduced peloton and snatch victory. Ten seconds later, Lewis Bower was still up there to take fourth place in the sprint, fifth of the stage. “I was satisfied with his performance, as he managed to get over the five final climbs with the best, without ever getting dropped,” added Alex. “Ben Askey tried to move him back up in the last three kilometres, but it was difficult because the pace was fast and there were lots of turns. Lewis managed it on his own and did well. Ultimately, a top-5 on this type of circuit is a decent result.” After this second stage, three riders from “La Conti” were still in the running for the general.
This situation didn’t make it through Saturday’s stage. “The scenario was a bit strange,” explained Jérôme Gannat. “Since the leader couldn’t defend his jersey, it looked like a first stage with a lot of moves. It proved difficult for us. There were several breakaways, and we were almost never there in large groups”. Around fifteen men eventually got clear before the final circuit in Guérande. “We had no one in front and we never had the opportunity to pull behind the breakaway,” Jérôme added. “Other teams were caught up behind, but there was never an alliance to chase. A group of nine even got away in the final and we missed it again”. At the finish, Noah Hobbs was the first rider of the team, in 37th position, more than 2’30 behind. “The day was very negative, both in terms of results and general behaviour on the bike,” pointed out Jérôme. “We lost everything on GC, and we set the record straight on Sunday morning. We then had to focus on the stages, be a bit more aggressive and not be conservative in the middle of the pack.”
“It’s encouraging”, Jérôme Gannat
Stage four, on Sunday, proved more straightforward. “It was a much more classic scenario, because the leader Jakob Söderqvist had quite a solid team,” explained Jérôme. Five riders took the lead early on, and Baptiste Veistroffer managed to make it to the line, just fifteen seconds in front of the peloton. “The winner was very strong, but the lead was a bit too big entering the final circuit,” added Jérôme Gannat. “It was quite a difficult circuit, only 70 riders were left for the sprint. You mostly had to be very well positioned and follow the moves. Lewis was up there, Ronan too, especially on the last lap. Noah was able to bring Lewis back in the last kilometre, and Lewis took second place in the peloton, third in the stage. Finishing on the podium is positive.” After four stages, “La Conti” tallies two podiums and a top-5 finish, but obviously hopes for more over the next three days of racing. “It’s encouraging, but we need to be much more proactive,” Jérôme concluded. “We have been rather passive until then. We certainly have good cards to play in the sprint, but we can’t only rely on that either”.
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