Maxime Decomble’s fine run of form continues. Just a few weeks after winning the overall classification of the Tour Poitou-Charentes, the young Groupama-FDJ United rider finished third overall in the Tour of Slovakia this Sunday. This result was mostly built on the final stage, where he took fourth place in a demanding summit finish. Rémi Daumas, meanwhile, secured sixth place overall at the end of a strong week for the team led by Jérôme Gannat.
Following a selective opening stage on Friday, the Okolo Slovenska peloton faced a route more suited to sprinters on Saturday. For the fourth stage, the riders had almost 200 kilometres to cover to Galanta, and a five-man breakaway quickly formed. Behind them, the peloton appeared to have the race under control for a long time and was only two minutes behind with 40 kilometres to go. “I thought it would be wrapped up quickly because there were only five of them and they had already been out front for quite some time, but they benefited somewhat from the tailwind in the final,” explained Jérôme Gannat. “We didn’t initially take part in the chase, but then we asked Rémi and Yann to contribute.” Yet in the final ten kilometres, the entire peloton struggled to close the gap to the early breakaway, which managed to retain a 200-metre gap as it entered the finishing straight. Erik Fetter took the victory, while Matteo Milan had to settle for sixth place. “It was a good sprint for Matteo, and we had also set up a lead-out for him,” Jérôme said. “It worked pretty well with Blake and Cyril, but sixth place leaves us with a bitter taste because he actually finished second among the peloton behind Paul Magnier. I think that was where he really belonged in the sprints here in Slovakia.”
“Maxime did what was needed” – Jérôme Gannat
Maxime Decomble, meanwhile, benefited from a split behind 27th position to gain five seconds on some of his GC rivals. “That was mainly because he was part of the lead-out in the final kilometre, which allowed him to stay near the front and avoid being caught in a split,” Jérôme pointed out. The young rider from Provence was therefore in a good position heading into Sunday’s queen stage, although everything remained to be decided given the extremely difficult final climb to Kráľova hoľa (13 km at 8.5%), the “Slovak Mont Ventoux”. A 28-rider breakaway initially caused chaos at the start before the race settled down again around the halfway point. “We didn’t want to take the risk of letting that breakaway gain too much time, so we took part in the chase with Matteo, Blake and Josh,” Jérôme explained. “After that, things were much clearer.” A duo subsequently went up the road and tackled the final climb with an advantage of just under two minutes. “With Matteo and Cyril, the aim was to put Maxime in a good position at the foot of the climb,” Jérôme added. The selection quickly began to take shape in the peloton. The breakaway was caught after two kilometres of climbing, while the group of favourites had been reduced to just over a dozen riders, including Maxime Decomble and Rémi Daumas.
“Rémi made quite some efforts because we really wanted Maxime to be sheltered from the wind and to remain in contact near the front,” Jérôme noted. “With seven kilometres to go, Rémi set a strong pace and the group was reduced to six riders. Bravo and Van Eetvelt then attacked, but things slowed down a little and Rémi managed to come back and take another turn on the front.” The attacks nevertheless resumed with renewed intensity, and the young “La Conti” rider was eventually forced to drop back as Maxime Decomble fought hard to stay on the wheels of his three main rivals. “Maxime was struggling a little, but he managed to get back on the headwind sections,” Jérôme recounted. “He never really cracked. Van Eetvelt and Bravo’s accelerations hurt him, but he was able to get back on each time. It was only with 500 metres to go, on Van Eetvelt’s final acceleration, that he finally lost contact. The important thing then was to stay with Meehan to secure third place overall, and he did what was needed! There weren’t really any surprises in the final. We found the best climbers of the race at the front, the same riders who had already been up there on Friday.” After having tried to surprise his rivals shortly before the final kilometre, Maxime Decomble eventually finished fourth on the stage, 14 seconds behind winner Lennert Van Eetvelt, thereby securing third place overall. Rémi Daumas reached the summit 45 seconds after the day’s winner, in sixth place.
“Satisfying and promising” – Jérôme Gannat
“The goal was a podium in the overall classification, and we knew there was an opportunity for Maxime, who was coming off a very good month of August,” Jérôme added. “We can say that the mission was accomplished, and the first two riders were simply a little above the rest. Maxime is where he belongs, and so is Rémi. It’s quite satisfying and promising for these two young riders. It’s always important to come away with results from races like this. It provides motivation for the rest of the season and for the future.” Groupama-FDJ United also left Slovakia having won the team classification. “That’s another positive,” Jérôme concluded. “The team’s performance was also really very good in the way we set up the sprints, but we weren’t able to cap it off with a podium for Matteo (5th, 7th, 6th, editor’s note). That’s a little frustrating because we really had the means to do it. We didn’t manage to tick that box, but the way this young team put things in place over these five days is very satisfying.”
