After a final battle in the streets of Limoges, and despite two minor scares, Ewen Costiou confirmed his overall victory in the Tour du Limousin-Périgord – Nouvelle-Aquitaine this Friday. Once again superbly supported by his teammates, the young Breton crossed the finish line six seconds behind the stage winner, within the main peloton, allowing him to retain the title he won last year. He now has four victories in 2026 and is turning his attention to WorldTour-level goals.
At the start in Nantiat on Friday morning, 180 kilometres stood between Ewen Costiou and a second consecutive overall victory in the Tour du Limousin-Périgord – Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Having held onto the yellow jersey since his solo victory on the second stage, the Brest native was facing a punchy final round featuring around 2,500 metres of elevation gain. In Limoges, three laps of a demanding circuit represented the final difficulties standing between him and the title. Before that, his teammates had perfectly controlled the early stages of the race. “Yesterday, we went all-in on controlling the breakaway and making sure certain teams couldn’t get riders into it,” explained Yvon Caër. “As a result, they were less aggressive today, and we were able to control the breakaway quite easily. The best-placed rider on GC was seven minutes behind, so we didn’t need to react beyond a certain gap. We also knew that teams targeting the stage win would take over the chase, and that’s exactly what happened. We were in a very comfortable position for about four-fifths of the race.” At the first passage across the finish line, 37 kilometres from the end, the breakaway had an advantage of just one minute. “Our goal was then to keep the pace high on the circuit to prevent attacks,” Yvon added. “Tom, Josh and Rémi were tasked with driving the pace, which they did, although Ewen’s puncture disrupted our plans a little.”
“A fantastic team” – Ewen Costiou
With just over 30 kilometres to go, the race leader was indeed forced to stop and change bikes. “It was handled without panic, particularly thanks to Tom and Maxime,” Yvon explained. “It was a slightly stressful moment, but when I saw the way the guys were bringing me back, I wasn’t too worried,” Ewen confirmed. “After that, we managed things really well.” Back in the bunch after five minutes of chasing, the Breton remained near the front and Maxime Decomble, in particular, did an excellent job of covering the attacks during the final lap around Limoges. “He was simply at the level we expected from him,” Yvon said. “His start to the season has been very demanding in terms of his schedule, with almost exclusively WorldTour races. He struggled a little when he returned at the Polynormande, but he has been very strong over the last two days. That’s a very good sign for the upcoming races.” Eventually, a split caused by a rider at the start of the final kilometre allowed a handful of riders to gain a slight gap for the final sprint, which was won by Noa Isidore. There was no reason to worry the yellow jersey, however, as Ewen was safely in the peloton, just six seconds behind. “We had a bit of a margin, so it had no consequences,” Yvon said. “Our sole objective today was to keep the jersey, and we achieved it perfectly, with a team that was 100% committed and a really positive mentality.”
Ewen Costiou was therefore able to enjoy his second consecutive overall victory in the Tour du Limousin, while also claiming his fourth win of the season and his second stage-race victory. “I’m absolutely delighted, and I really want to thank the team,” he said in his first statement. “All week, I’ve had a fantastic team around me, with riders performing at a very high level. I never panicked thanks to them, even today when I punctured as we entered the circuit.” “This overall victory is a reward for Ewen’s excellent form and the collective work over the last few days,” Yvon concluded. “We also made the right decision to be aggressive from the second stage onwards, and we can see that this is where the differences were made. Ewen will now turn his attention to a WorldTour schedule. He now has four wins this year, and this victory will give him confidence to perform at the next level. He is capable of doing it. More generally, we’ll once again have a strong team for the Tour Poitou-Charentes next week. We need to keep moving in this direction and take every opportunity that comes our way. Winning often leads to more winning. The team has been in a very good rhythm for the last few days, and we need to maintain that momentum to achieve a strong finish to the season.”
