From being disappointed to bouncing back. Off the pace during Wednesday’s first showdown between the general classification contenders at the Tour de l’Ain, Brieuc Rolland reacted impressively on Thursday in the third and final stage of the French race. Although dropped by a handful of favourites on the Col de Menthières, the young Breton fought his way back to the lead group thanks to a superb descent before securing an encouraging third place at Lélex Monts-Jura. He therefore scored his first podium finish of the season.
Following the only stage dedicated to the sprinters, the Tour de l’Ain took a complete turn on Wednesday with Stage 2 from Saint-Vulbas to Lagnieu, featuring two ascents of the Col de Portes (14.5 km at 5.5%). It was the first real test for the general classification contenders, and unfortunately Groupama-FDJ United came up short. The team’s only survivor after the first ascent, Brieuc Rolland was unable to match the pace of the strongest riders on the second climb, around forty kilometres from the finish. “It was a surprise,” explained William Green. “He was fighting on the first ascent, but just exploded on the second. Looking back, we can assume he simply hadn’t recovered enough after a very intense training block over the past two weeks. Combined with the heat, that probably explains his performance, but we don’t want to make excuses. It was an important race for both Brieuc and the team, and the result wasn’t acceptable. We can’t make these mistakes. Once he realized he was no longer in contention for a top ten overall finish, he eased off because there was still another stage on Thursday and we wanted to turn things around.”
“Brieuc kept fighting” – William Green
To bounce back, the team had to tackle an even tougher course on Thursday. Although only 130 kilometres long, the final stage featured 3,000 metres of elevation gain across seven classified climbs, including the Col de Menthières (9 km at 6%), before a long uphill false flat to the finish in Lélex Monts-Jura. Groupama-FDJ United approached the race exactly as planned by placing Johan Jacobs in an early eight-man breakaway. “We really wanted to turn things around after yesterday,” said William. “Everyone was highly motivated and we wanted to make something happen on the final climb from the breakaway. The plan was to have both Johan and Brieuc up the road. Unfortunately, the start wasn’t hard enough for Brieuc to bridge across despite all his efforts. Still, it was very positive to have Johan in front because it meant we could use him later. Once the race became harder, the break split apart. Johan was really strong, but before the final climb I asked him to sit up and wait for Brieuc, which he did. He was then able to help close the gap to the lone leader while allowing Brieuc to start the final ascent in a good position.”
The Col de Menthières began with thirty kilometres remaining, and after only a few hundred metres the favourites launched an acceleration. Brieuc Rolland was unable to respond immediately. “For sure he wasn’t at his normal level, but he was climbing better than the day before,” William explained. “When the favourites accelerated, he couldn’t match the pace, but he kept believing and kept fighting. Just before the summit, he attacked the group he was in, and then on the descent he took nearly a minute to come back to the front of the race. It was really impressive to watch.” Nearly twenty kilometres after seeing the favourites ride away, the young Breton bridged back to a seven-man lead group alongside another rider. The final twelve kilometres then consisted of a gradual uphill drag towards Lélex Monts-Jura. “It was obviously all-in for the stage win,” William added. “The general classification battle was also going on, and we took advantage of that. Once Brieuc made it back to the front group, he managed his energy very efficiently.” The 22-year-old stayed therefore in the wheels as the finish approached. With less than two kilometres to go, Jefferson Alexander Cepeda tried to anticipate the reduced sprint with a late attack, but the final 300-metre uphill stretch stopped his attempt.
“We wanted to go home with a smile on our face” – William Green
In the end, the stage was decided in a hard-fought sprint, where Brieuc Rolland claimed an excellent third place. “He didn’t have the legs to attack and go solo, so we went for the sprint,” said William. “Brieuc did his best to stay well positioned, and I don’t think he could have done much more in that final. It simply came down to the legs. He certainly spent a lot of energy getting back to the front, but after yesterday we can be very pleased with third place. We came here wanting to produce a result on GC and we’re really far from doing that. It’s disappointing, but I don’t think it’s a significant issue, just a small one. There’s plenty of racing to come, and I think Brieuc just needs some more recovery. We’ll soon see him back at his best, and I believe this result has given him some confidence again. It’s always difficult to work so hard for a race and then experience a setback like yesterday. You start asking yourself a lot of questions. This morning we had a good briefing and a clear strategy. We wanted to finish this race and go home with a smile on our face, after giving our maximum. That’s what we did.”
