Less than a week after the Tour de France, Clément Braz Afonso proved on Saturday at the San Sebastian Klasikoa that he still had something left in the tank. After coming through a highly selective race in the Basque Country, the young Frenchman tackled the day’s final climb alongside the favourites before finding himself in contention for a podium spot in the closing straight. In the reduced sprint, he eventually crossed the line in fourteenth place, securing his best result in a WorldTour Classic.
While the overwhelming favourite, Remco Evenepoel, was indeed coming straight from the Tour de France, much of the peloton looked very different from the one seen on the Grande Boucle. Groupama-FDJ United lined up with only two riders who had finished on the Champs-Élysées six days earlier: Quentin Pacher and Clément Braz Afonso. Together with their five teammates, they faced the race’s characteristically demanding route: 220 kilometres, more than 4,000 metres of climbing, and, above all, the brutal climbs of Erlaitz (4 km at 11%) and Murgil Tontorra (2 km at 10%), which were expected to decide the outcome over the final 50 kilometres. “We know the race has become much harder and more selective since this new course was introduced, and that was once again the case today,” explained Philippe Mauduit. A succession of climbs during the opening half of the race gradually wore the peloton down before the riders crossed the iconic, but now less decisive, Jaizkibel with just over sixty kilometres remaining. The decisive battle then unfolded on the slopes of Erlaitz, where Clément Braz Afonso fought to stay with the strongest riders for as long as possible.
“A really impressive performance” – Philippe Mauduit
He came over the summit around thirty seconds behind the leaders, together with a group of roughly ten riders. “The race changed a little because of Remco Evenepoel’s mechanical issue,” Philippe continued. “Clément was caught by Remco at the top, and then that entire group made it back to the front thanks, it has to be said, to the Belgian’s effort. Even so, it was already a very good sign to be there because there were only around fifteen riders ahead at that point.” By the time the riders crossed the finish line in San Sebastián for the penultimate time, more than thirty competitors had regrouped at the front. The leading group remained together until the foot of the final climb, Murgil Tontorra, ten kilometres from the finish, before Remco Evenepoel shattered the race with an attack one kilometre from the summit. Riding in the third chase group, Clément Braz Afonso kept pushing and eventually bridged across to the first group of chasers after the descent. As the riders entered the finishing straight, the young Frenchman was therefore still battling for third place, albeit against faster finishers on paper. “It was really good to have Clément in that group,” Philippe added. “He placed 14th eventually. It might not sound spectacular, but having a rider finish in the top fifteen of such a strong field is a significant result.”
Just six days after completing his very first Tour de France, where he took part in numerous breakaways and claimed eighth place in Belfort and fifteenth at Alpe d’Huez, Clément Braz Afonso once again demonstrated remarkable consistency. In fact, only five of the top twenty finishers in San Sebastián had also completed this year’s Tour. “When you come out of the Tour, San Sebastián is all or nothing,” Philippe concluded. “Either you haven’t recovered properly and you simply can’t get going during the race, or, on the contrary, you get stronger as the kilometres go by and find yourself in the final. That’s what happened to Evenepoel and Carapaz, who finished first and second, but also to Clément. Even so, since this course was introduced, we know it’s usually difficult for riders coming straight from the Tour. So what Clément achieved today is a really impressive performance. He’s now heading into a well-deserved rest period, while about half of the squad here will travel next to the Vuelta a Burgos.”
