The riders of the Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team’s “Juniors Program” competed as a team for the very last time of the 2025 season last weekend. In the Keizer der Juniores, a benchmark event in this age category, Jimmy Turgis’s protégés managed to secure two podium finishes in three stages, with Alban Picard also taking tenth place overall. A fine conclusion before a final, individual appointment at the Chrono des Nations.
Three quite diverse profiles were on the agenda for the Keizer der Juniores riders last weekend in Belgium. Before tackling a short six-kilometre time trial and a final, completely flat stage, it all started with a Flemish-type course on Saturday, over 111 kilometers. “It was like a small Classic,” confirmed Jimmy Turgis. “There were five climbs in the first sixty kilometres, with two iconic locations from the Tour of Flanders. There was the Old Kwaremont, which we didn’t climb all the way to the top, but also the Paterberg. I think it was really interesting for the young riders to tackle such a course.” Due to a relatively flat second part of the race towards Pittem, also the starting town, the race obviously opened up in the Old Kwaremont-Kalkhoveberg-Paterberg sequence. “The plan was that Alban, who is a cobblestone specialist, could take advantage of this sequence to attack and make the difference,” added Jimmy. “That’s what he did, and there were thirteen riders at the front at the top of the Paterberg.”
“Victory was definitely possible,” Jimmy Turgis
In the final fifty kilometres, this leading group managed to stay away from the peloton, and ten riders ultimately competed for victory. Alban Picard then took third place. “It was a bit frustrating, because Alban seemed to be the strongest in the group, but he was a bit isolated against teams with numbers,” Jimmy explained. “It wasn’t easy for him to manage the final. He made a lot of effort not to let anyone get away, and he probably paid for it in the sprint. It’s a shame because he really had great legs, but it’s still a great satisfaction because he was up there, he attacked where he needed to, and he showed that he’s always in the mix on Classic-style courses. It’s a great third place for a first year Junior, but given what we saw on the ground, victory was definitely possible on this stage.” A minute after the young Frenchman, Gabriel Genter and Karl Sagnier took first and fourth place in the sprint (18th and 21st) within the main peloton. “We did a strong race as a team,” claimed Jimmy.
On Sunday morning, the race resumed with a short six-kilometre time trial in the town of Wulpen. “It was a decisive time trial for the general classification, especially to make the difference between the top ten riders from Saturday,” explained Jimmy. “It was a special course because you had to be able to go fast, but it was also quite winding, and the weather conditions changed over the morning. Alban actually struggled a bit, more technically than physically, in this time trial, and the stage’s results were quite mixed for us.” Karl Sagnier achieved the best performance of the team, taking 36th position, while Alban Picard dropped back to tenth place overall. Finally, a very flat profile concluded the weekend around Coxyde, over 99 kilometres. “It was mainly a city circuit, we had a strategy to try to break up the peloton, but the road finally dried out and this favoured a bunch finish,” explained Jimmy. “The briefing was for the team to focus on Karl and for Gabriel to do the sprint with a free role because he is used to managing it on his own. Given that these are very specific sprints, it was better to have two cards. And we did well, because Karl was a bit blocked in the sprint, Gabriel took the other side and was able to score a nice third place.” Karl Sagnier had to settle for tenth position.
“A solid foundation has been laid,” Jimmy Turgis
“They were very fast, and I think it was possible to do even better,” added Jimmy. “It’s still a great third place in a UCI event for Gabriel, who is a first year Junior. Karl lacks a bit of automatisms with some of the team’s riders, which explains why they missed out a bit in the final.” Alban Picard secured his tenth place overall, and the Juniors Program therefore concluded its season as a team. “The weekend’s balance is good, with two podium finishes, and with a team that rode aggressively and showed a good mindset,” concluded Jimmy. “I’m satisfied with the commitment of each and every rider. We would have liked to win, we’re still a bit disappointed in that respect, but I’m still happy with the weekend we had. Marc also paid us a visit on Saturday, and that made the youngsters happy. It was our last race as a team. We would have liked to win this year with the Groupama-FDJ jersey, which we didn’t manage to do, but we have to put things into perspective: we had six first year Juniors out of eight riders in the squad. We came close several times, but finishing with two podiums for two first year Juniors shows that a solid foundation has been laid and that we can do even better next year.”
