The first rest day has finally arrived. After nine grueling days of racing, the peloton wrapped up the opening week of the Tour de France on Sunday. Before briefly settling into the Massif Central, Clément Russo capitalized on another bunch sprint on Saturday to claim a solid eighth place, while Clément Braz Afonso and Ewen Costiou put in tremendous efforts on Sunday to make the breakaway, only for their hopes to be cut short by the furious pace on the road to Ussel. Racing will resume on Tuesday with what promises to be another demanding stage to Le Lioran.
One week after the Grand Départ in Barcelona, the peloton still had two stages to tackle over the weekend before enjoying the rest day. The first, and less demanding one, took the riders to Bergerac on Saturday for Stage 8, which was widely expected to end in a bunch sprint. A lone attacker came close to upsetting the sprinters, but it was ultimately another high-speed showdown that saw Tim Merlier claim his second victory in a row. Clément Russo, meanwhile, enjoyed far better fortune than the previous day, powering to a solid eighth place at the finish. “I’m happy with the way we handled the final,” he said. “The team did a great job for me on the long straight from ten to six kilometres to go. After that there were plenty of corners and roundabouts, and the goal was simply to stay as close to the front as possible. I managed to find my way through, hold the right wheels and entered the finishing straight in fourth position. That was ideal. I lost a little bit of speed after getting boxed in, but I managed to accelerate again. I’m not a pure sprinter, so a top ten was the objective. I’m satisfied with my day.” “Clément once again showed he has exceptional positioning skills,” praised Yvon Caër. “He doesn’t have the same finishing speed as the pure sprinters, but thanks to his positioning, he can deliver great results. With a bit more luck, a top five was within reach. It’s great to see him seize his opportunity whenever it comes, because he’s a rider who spends the entire year working for others.”
“These aren’t the same breakaways as at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes” – Clément Braz Afonso
After making a strong start to the weekend, Groupama-FDJ United hoped to finish it on the same note on Sunday during a stage to Ussel that looked made for the breakaway, featuring nearly 3,000 metres of climbing. Following a blistering start, it took almost sixty kilometres before a breakaway finally managed to go clear. Ewen Costiou was part of the first wave, while Clément Braz Afonso bridged across at the last moment to a group of fifteen riders. “It was incredibly intense,” explained Yvon. “Right from the first climb, I could see the peloton was already suffering. Everyone was on the limit on what looked like an insignificant little hill. Even so, we rode a great race until the break finally went. Having two riders in a group of fifteen was a real source of satisfaction, especially considering the quality of the group.” The two young Frenchmen found themselves alongside Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock, Quinn Simmons, Alex Baudin, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Tobias Halland Johannessen and Derek Gee, among others. “These aren’t the same breakaways as at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes,” Clément smiled. “With Pogačar opening up such huge gaps overall, all the other top riders are looking to go on the attack and chase stage wins. Honestly, when I saw the quality of the group, I thought we were going to make it stick. But they quickly realised that there was no time to waste once we reached the Suc au May.”
“We have to keep building on this momentum” – Yvon Caër
After only ten kilometres out front, the breakaway therefore exploded on the day’s main climb, with the peloton still hovering less than a minute behind. “Unfortunately, when the pace went up on the Suc au May, we struggled,” said Yvon. “Perhaps we could have saved a few bullets, because Clément had already followed two earlier moves before the decisive one formed, and then he made another big effort to bridge across. That cost him later on. But both he and Ewen told us they simply didn’t have the legs to follow when Van der Poel and Pidcock attacked.” “They attacked right at the bottom of the climb, and I just couldn’t go with them, I had to ride at my own pace,” Clément confirmed. “We climbed well behind, but they still gained thirty seconds on us. We did everything we could, but we knew it was over. I also didn’t expect UAE to bring the peloton back so quickly behind us. In the end, only the very best managed to get away.” After an unrelenting day of racing from start to finish, only four riders managed to stay clear of the peloton, with Mathieu van der Poel taking the victory. “There are absolutely no regrets,” insisted Yvon. “We were exactly where we needed to be at the key moment, and then we were simply beaten by stronger riders. That’s all there is to it.”
Clément Braz Afonso eventually crossed the line in 23rd place, as Groupama-FDJ United completed the opening week of the Tour with three top-ten finishes. “I think we performed in line with the physical resources we had over these first nine days,” concluded Yvon. “We were a bit off the pace in the mountains, but what I’ll remember is the commitment and the way we approached every stage. Whether it was Clément in the sprints or regarding our main objective on this Tour: making the breakaways. We have to keep building on this momentum. The peloton will inevitably become more fatigued during the second and third weeks, and there will still be opportunities.”
