Just a few days before Il Lombardia, Clément Berthet once again showed that he is in good shape on Tuesday at the Tre Valli Varesine. Right up there on the various climbs of the final, the French climber was unable to follow the trio that fought for victory, but still secured a decent 11th place in the sprint, within a reduced chasing group. Before the final Monument of the year, the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team will line up for Gran Piemonte on Thursday.
An unmissable event on the Italian racing calendar in the week leading up to Il Lombardia, the 3 Valli Varesine semi-classic once again featured a very strong field this year on its usual hilly course. The race consisted of seven laps featuring two climbs of two kilometres at 5%, followed by two larger circuits taking in those same two climbs, as well as the decisive Barasso ascent (900 metres at 8%). “We know this race very well and we knew that the outcome would be decided in the final,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “It was difficult to anticipate because the two big laps were thirty kilometres long, giving teams enough time to reorganise. We were focusing more on the final, and the aim was to support Clément and Romain, while knowing that Valentin was going well and that we had Bastien in case of a sprint from a small group.” Around fifty kilometres from the finish, however, several teams began to make their move. Clément Berthet and Quentin Pacher briefly followed a few attacks, but the peloton appeared to be completely under control as it entered the final lap, just a few seconds behind a three-man breakaway. At that point, Groupama-FDJ United also lost Quentin Pacher, who crashed and suffered from his elbow.
“Clément was among the best on the climbs” – Benoît Vaugrenard
The race situation changed very little over the following ten kilometres. It was only as the riders approached the final ascent of Barasso that the peloton made its push to catch the leading trio. The opening ramps created a first selection, with Clément Berthet, Romain Grégoire and Valentin Madouas all making it through. But when the major attacks came with fourteen kilometres to go, driven by Tom Pidcock, only Matteo Jorgenson and Jarno Widar were able to follow the Briton. “Behind them, a group of twenty riders reformed, and we had Clément and Valentin in it,” Benoît explained. “We could see on the climb that Clément was right there, in a small group of three behind Pidcock. He was among the best on the climbs, but this is still more of a puncheur’s race than a climber’s race, so he wasn’t able to make the difference. As for Romain, it simply wasn’t his day, probably because of the fatigue from the European Championships. That’s the small disappointment of the day, because I’m convinced that, under normal circumstances, he really belonged to that large chasing group.”
After the penultimate difficulty, the three leaders quickly built up a solid advantage, also benefiting from some tactical games in the back. At the foot of the last climb (2 kilometres at 5%) leading to the finish, they had a comfortable thirty-second gap, which the chasers were only partially able to reduce. Clément Berthet himself launched an acceleration on this final uphill section, but the world champion immediately followed his move. “We weren’t able to catch the three leaders, and that group of twenty riders fought for fourth place,” Benoît commented. Although surrounded by a number of fast finishers, Clément Berthet managed to find his way through and secured 11th place. “Valentin suffered from cramps on the final climb, which was a little unfortunate,” Benoît said. “In any case, Clément delivered, his legs are good, and that is therefore a good sign ahead of Il Lombardia on Saturday.”