After a low-key performance at the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen on Friday, where it took the start without a pure sprinter, the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team made its mark on Saturday’s Flandrien 0.0 Classic. The French squad even split the race itself with almost 80 kilometres to go, sending Johan Jacobs, Axel Huens and Thibaud Gruel into a group of around fifteen riders. A long battle with the peloton then unfolded, but the two Frenchmen managed to hold on and were rewarded for their initiative. Thibaud Gruel took sixth place, while Axel Huens finished tenth.
On Friday, the first round of the Flemish double-header on Groupama-FDJ United’s programme took place around Koolskamp. Twelve laps of a fifteen-kilometre circuit made up the route of the 110th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen. “On paper, it’s a completely flat race, but the wind can sometimes make it difficult,” explained Tanguy Turgis. “That said, we knew a sprint was almost inevitable, and we were without Paul, who had crashed at Fourmies. So the idea was to go for the sprint with Axel, while also giving Lewis his chance. We were aware that our chances were slim given the start list, and unfortunately there weren’t really any opportunities to try something earlier on the circuit.” Nevertheless, when splits began to form in the crosswinds with forty and then twenty-five kilometres remaining, Groupama-FDJ United was very much in the mix. “The goal was to be well positioned at that point, so they took the opportunity to take turns a little,” Tanguy continued. “We quickly told them to stop, given the way the peloton was behaving. When you’re the only team out of twenty-five that wants something other than a mass sprint, it’s impossible to change the script.” As a result, everything came back together at the start of the final lap and, as expected, a mass sprint was on the cards.
“There was no Plan B” – William Green
“In the sprint, the aim was for Titouan to position Johan and Axel, then for Johan to bring Axel up as late as possible, ideally in the final kilometre,” Tanguy explained. “As for Lewis, we know his form isn’t exceptional at the moment, so we didn’t put any riders alongside him, but we gave him a free rein. It was more a matter of improvisation for him. He was quite far back with five kilometres to go, but the Unibet Rose Rockets were patient before launching Groenewegen, so we told him to get onto their wheels. It worked out well, because Axel was more towards the right and Lewis on the left, which gave us two opportunities.” The sprint itself, however, proved more complicated for Groupama-FDJ United’s two young men. “Axel struggled to stay in position over the final two kilometres, and he was frustrated about it at the finish,” Tanguy added. “Lewis was in a good position behind the Unibet riders, but he was lacking a little in the legs to get involved in the fight for the top 10 (18th, ed.). Considering the difficulties he’s had this year, it’s already a positive to see him in a sprint. He was actually quite emotional about it. We missed out on the top 10, but without a true sprinter, you can’t consider that a real failure. We did the best we could with the strengths we had.”
On Saturday, however, the French team started the Flandrien 0.0 Classic with genuine ambitions. It was much better equipped for the course, which featured 200 kilometres and some Flemish climbs. “We knew from last year’s experience that it was a very difficult race, but we approached it with a lot of excitement,” said William Green. “We had a team perfectly suited to the course, with Axel and Thibaud, as well as some very strong riders to support them. Without a pure sprinter, we wanted an aggressive and offensive race.” With that in mind, Groupama-FDJ United did everything it could to put its plan into action. “Esteban rode from the very beginning to make sure we were well positioned, which was really great,” said Thibaud Gruel. “Clément and Kevin guided us perfectly for thirty kilometres so that we arrived in position where we wanted to be, and then Tom took over at the exit of the town of Wavre.” It was there, just under 80 kilometres from the finish, that the plan was put into action on the demanding Chaussée d’Ottenbourg (700 metres at 7.5%). “We did what we had planned,” Axel Huens continued. “We wanted to accelerate as a team and blow the race apart. Tom led into the climb, then Johan did the rest. It split, we found ourselves in a group of fifteen, and that was exactly what we wanted.” “We had the three riders we wanted up front,” William confirmed. “There was no Plan B. It was all-in.”
“We’re so lucky to have a rider like Johan” – William Green
This move, which included several of the favourites such as Laurence Pithie and Florian Vermeersch, quickly caught the breakaway and built a lead of around thirty seconds over the peloton. “The cooperation was good, everyone was riding,” said Thibaud. “But Johan did an incredible job, taking huge turns on the front.” “Johan was riding really strongly during the first lap,” Axel Huens confirmed, referring to the three-climb circuit that had to be covered twice before the riders headed towards the finish. After the first sequence, the breakaway group had built a lead of almost fifty seconds. “Some teams had two riders in there, we had three, and I told the guys not to hesitate for a single second,” William added. “It was a very strong group, we believed in it from the beginning, and we’re so lucky to have a rider like Johan. He almost made the whole race today. Without him, we probably would have been heading for a mass sprint.” After one final huge turn on the last passage through Moskesstraat, 40 kilometres from the finish, the Swiss rider dropped back and left his two teammates to continue at the front in a reduced group of fifteen. After the final climb of the course, the breakaway still had a 35-second advantage, but there were another 33 kilometres to cover. A very long battle then unfolded.
“There were always between 30 and 40 seconds between us and the peloton, and we had to ride hard,” William continued. “The important thing was not to get carried away and to stay united within the group. Right up to the very end, we gave everything to make it to the finish, because we didn’t have a rider who could sprint behind. Thibaud and Axel did a lot of work, but it was also our responsibility. We didn’t think about the finish until we actually got there. We went all-out.” Over the final thirty kilometres, the peloton managed to claw its way back towards the breakaway, closing to within thirty seconds with ten kilometres remaining, and even fifteen seconds five kilometres later. The gap came down to as little as ten seconds with three kilometres to go, before the chasing bunch began to run out of manpower. “Thibaud looked a little stronger than me on the climbs, so towards the end I sacrificed myself to make sure they didn’t catch us,” Axel explained. “We really had to make it to the finish with this breakaway. I put a little more power into my turns and launched the sprint.” “Berckmoes made a little move to get onto Axel’s wheel, I found myself in the wind and lost some speed,” Thibaud regretted. “I tried to get back onto the wheels, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted.” Although the breakaway did indeed manage to hold off the peloton, the young Frenchman ultimately had to settle for sixth place, while Axel Huens finished tenth.
“We took control and responsibilities” – Axel Huens
“I would have liked to finish higher than sixth,” said Thibaud. “It’s a little disappointing, but it was a really great day.” “We didn’t finish exactly as we would have hoped after a day that had been perfect up to that point, but we’re very happy that we made the race,” Axel commented. “Because today, it was clearly Groupama-FDJ United that dictated the race. We can be proud of that, and next time we’ll try to win. We’re happy with this double top 10, but above all we’re happy with the way we raced: taking control and responsibilities. That feels good.” “We have no regrets,” William added. “We rode a perfect race and the result we achieved was the best possible today. Even though it’s not a victory, we were rewarded for our attacking spirit with a good result. When you look at the start list, and in particular the sprinters who came here intending to race defensively with their teams, we can be very proud that we managed to get the better of them. We gave 110% to put the plan into action and achieve our goal. We can be very satisfied.”