Although the final two days of the Tour of Slovakia didn’t bring the best results, a satisfying week of racing nevertheless concluded this Sunday for “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ. In the final stage, ending with a summit finish, Rémi Daumas even secured a solid eleventh place.
After three stages devoted to the sprinters, in which “La Conti” performed quite well, another bunch finish was expected on Saturday on the Tour of Slovakia. In fact, it was the least difficult stage of the week, which was looming for the riders, covering 170 kilometers between Vráble and Sládkovičovo. Despite everything, Oscar Nilsson-Julien decided to give it a go, for the third time this week, by going to the front. “The goal was also to have an impact and show ourselves in this Class 1 race,” Jérôme Gannat recalled. “Oscar did that very well; it was good to have him in front, but we knew that Soudal-Quick Step wanted the stage win again. They didn’t have much more than a two-minute lead, and although the stage was very flat, it was also very tense due to the wind. There were a few attempts to echelons, then the wind was mainly from the back to get to the finish. Oscar was with some very strong riders this time, and they resisted well.” With thirty kilometres to go, the young Frenchman’s lead was already down to a minute, but he kept his adventure going almost until the flamme rouge!
“Rémi did really well on climb,” Jérôme Gannat
However, another sprint indeed took place for the fourth time in a row. “We were quite well organized with two kilometres to go, but when we turned around, Matt hit the grass, lost a few positions, and had to make an effort to get back on Blake’s wheel,” Jérôme said. “There was also a roundabout one kilometre from the finish. The ambitious goal was to take the lead at that point, Reef was right up there, but Blake and Matt were a little further back.” The duo still managed to come back up in the last few hundred metres, but Matt Walls was then blocked on the final straight, having to settle for 17th place. “Even though the sprint is always a lottery, it was a bit of a disappointment because, like other days, we were aiming for the podium,” Jérôme insisted. The end of this fourth stage also meant the end of opportunities for the sprinters, as on Sunday, in the closing stage, four climbs punctuated a course of barely 120 kilometres. “First, there was a circuit to be completed three times with a very selective two-kilometre climb at 12%,” Jérôme explained. “We knew that Visma-Lease a Bike would shake things up and, above all, make sure to get rid of Paul Magnier before the final climb.”
The finish line was located at the end of this ascent, after 5.5 kilometres at 6.5%, but things got serious well before then. “The first lap was pretty easy,” Jérôme said. “In the second one, it really accelerated, and only fifty guys remained. In the last lap, there was a really big push, Cian Uijtdebroeks attacked, the peloton was all over the place, but Rémi held on, and twenty riders regrouped at the front. It came down to the legs, and it was already very good for him to be there.” Around forty kilometres remained to be covered before reaching the foot of the final climb. “We knew it was going to be fast from the bottom, we know that accelerations are a bit of Rémi’s weak point, but he held on pretty well,” added Jérôme. “A few riders made the difference, but he did really well on the climb. He tried to accelerate at one point, but that’s perhaps what he lacked to achieve an even better result at the finish.” At the summit, the young 19-year-old Frenchman took eleventh place, 1’23 behind the winner Paul Double. “The positive thing is that he was able to follow during the first selection and at the bottom of the last climb,” added Jérôme. “It was really good for such a young rider at this level.”
“One of the most accomplished races of the year,” Jérôme Gannat
However, after being caught in a split on Saturday, Rémi Daumas was unable to back up his fine result with a good overall ranking. Jérôme Gannat’s assessment of the week in Slovakia was nonetheless quite high: “The balance is very positive. I’d go so far as to say it was one of the most accomplished races of the year. The team showed superb attitude, rode as a unit, and they even surprised me. We were up to the task, we were in the mix, in the breakaways, and in the final of the stages. This work will be beneficial for the future. We were very present in every sprint, and I found it very interesting. Everyone had their role to play at some point, and that proves there was a desire to do well. We saw the Groupama-FDJ jersey, which is very good at this level, and when we remember that we are a development team.”
