The Groupama-FDJ squad got involved in the fight from start to finish on stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia this Friday. Sven Erik Bystrøm and Lorenzo Germani first joined a nine-rider breakaway, and the Italian even pushed his attempt until twelve kilometres to go, being eventually rewarded with the combativity award. As for Rémy Rochas, he seized his opportunity on the uphill finish in Vicenza, and took a superb fourth place behind Mads Pedersen, Wout Van Aert, and the pink jersey Isaac del Toro. It is his best result in a Grand Tour, and also the team’s best result in the 2025 Corsa Rosa.
Between two sprint-friendly days, stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia offered a slightly more demanding terrain on Friday between Rovigo and Vicenza. Although barely 1,500 metres of climbing were recorded on the course, the series of hills in the last sixty kilometers, including the uphill finish, opened up opportunities for several types of riders. First and foremost, the attackers. “The goal this morning was to have fun and ride aggressively,” explained Stéphane Goubert. “The boys were impeccable at the start. Enzo and Clément tried and also deserved to be in the breakaway. Sven also rode very well. He broke away alone and then waited a bit for a group to join him.” In the lead after ten kilometres of racing, the Norwegian was eventually caught by eight riders, including his teammate Lorenzo Germani, who had already escaped in Albania at the start of the Giro. Unfortunately for the two Groupama-FDJ riders and their companions, several teams immediately took control of the peloton, limiting the group’s lead to just two minutes. As a consequence, despite good organization at the front of the race, the fugitives approached the first climbs of the final with barely a minute’s margin.
“An emotionally intense day,” Lorenzo Germani
Lorenzo Germani then decided to accelerate and immediately found himself alone at the front. “It was a good group, we were working well together, but I think the pace was also high behind,” he smiled. “We never had too much of a lead, but I felt very good, and I just wanted the pace to increase on the climbs. De Bondt tried to attack, I countered him immediately, then I managed my effort a bit on the next climb because the peloton wasn’t very far behind.” The Italian tackled the climb of San Giovanni in Monte thirty seconds ahead of the pack, which was then in pieces following a strong push. “Unfortunately for Lorenzo, the peloton never let a big gap, and we knew something could happen at that point in the race,” added Stéphane. Yet, despite a small group of favorites going fast behind him, the young man put up a strong fight and was able to reach the top in the lead, joined by his fellow countryman Cristian Scaroni. After the downhill, the duo took advantage of a small break in the bunch to bring the gap up to one minute, but the chase restarted quite fast. Lorenzo Germani was therefore able to reach the first crossing of the finish line in Vicenza at the front, but the peloton’s comeback was irreversible.
Twelve kilometres from the finish line, his impressive performance came to an end. “This was an emotionally intense day,” he confessed. “First there’s the adrenaline of being in the breakaway, then you start to think about a lot of things, you start to dream, but in the end, it’s disappointment because you come away with nothing. There is no reward, no podium, just tired legs. I tried before, I tried again, and we’ll see if there are other opportunities. We’ll keep trying, and it will work out eventually. Maybe.” “It’s a shame for Lorenzo, who really deserved to fight for victory until the end,” Stéphane said. “We can see that he is progressing and getting stronger, step by step”. After two more climbs with about ten kilometres to go, a significantly reduced peloton ultimately headed towards the final climb of Vicenza (800m at 7.5%) for the big battle. “The group reorganized, especially the three guys who were supposed to be there in the final, namely Kevin, Quentin and Rémy,” Stéphane added. “I felt pretty good, but when Ineos Grenadiers attacked on the first climb, I wasn’t very well positioned. I tried to close the gaps and I got a real backlash,” said Rémy Rochas. “I even told the guys I wasn’t feeling well and that I was going to work for them. Then we arrived on the finishing circuit, I felt much better, and I tried to position myself as well as possible.”
“I couldn’t hope for much better,” Rémy Rochas
The Frenchman entered the day’s closing kilometre beyond the 20th position but was able to gain a few places before the final sprint opened in the last 300 metres. “I tried to anticipate the sprint because I didn’t want to lose momentum on this climb,” said Rémy. Mads Pedersen, however, also started his effort and ultimately won after a close battle against Wout Van Aert. A handful of seconds later, Rémy Rochas emerged to claim a much-noteworthy fourth place ahead of almost all the GC favourites. “It was a very, very tough finish,” he said. “I had a look at all the stages of the Giro before coming, and I thought that this one could be a good opportunity for me to do something. It’s an effort that suits me well and I’m pretty happy to finish fourth. I couldn’t hope for much better with the three guys in front.” “When you look at today’s podium, and when you look behind him, we have nothing to feel bad about,” Stéphane said. “It was perfect. It’s a nice day overall, and we’re going to continue like this, with this spirit, and with what we have.”
