Out of the GC fight following Johan Blanc’s crash in the second stage, the riders of the Groupama-FDJ’s “Juniors Program” pursued other goals during the final two stages of the Ain Bugey Valromey Tour. Although they didn’t manage to achieve them by the end of the race, on Monday, it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying.
The day after the only summit finish of the Ain Bugey Valromey Tour, where Johan Blanc claimed a decent fourteenth place, the peloton headed to Belley on Sunday, over a 107-kilometre course that included two climbs to the Virieu-le-Petit, as well as… some intermediate sprints. “We had two goals at the start,” explained Yann Le Boudec, coach of the Juniors Program. “The first one was to take the intermediate sprints’ red jersey with Gabriel [Genter]. Our rouleurs were there to help him win his sprint at the start of the stage, and that was very well done. They controlled the first few kilometres, then they led out Gabriel very well on a slight, difficult uphill section. He won his sprint masterfully and was able to take the jersey. The first goal was achieved.” What about the second? “The other goal was the stage victory, and we actually missed our chance,” explained Yann. “A large breakaway of fifteen riders formed, and we weren’t represented. It wasn’t a question of legs because the break went in a technical section that we had told the riders about. It’s a bit of a shame to have missed that opportunity, especially since there weren’t only strong riders up front. They went all the way, we were quite disappointed with the end of the stage, so it was a mixed day.”
“We finished with the right spirit,” Yann Le Boudec
After counterattacking in the final fifty kilometers, Johan Blanc found himself in-between for about twenty minutes without being able to reach the front of the race. Théophile Vassal took victory, and there was therefore just one stage remaining to go for a result, on Monday, July 14th, with the ascent of the Col du Mont Tournier (7.8 km at 6.4%) just twenty kilometers from the finish. In the first part of the race, the battle for the intermediate sprint classification resumed, and it didn’t go as hoped for the young men of Groupama-FDJ. “The sprints were fairly contested, and we were beaten by a stronger rider,” Yann said. “Gabriel was well-placed by his teammates, but the British champion Jamie Stewart was very strong and beat him twice. We can’t have any regrets. Gabriel has at least gained some experience trying to defend his jersey, so it’s still quite positive.” In the second half of the stage, Johan Blanc also gave his all to come away with a result from this week. “He was out for revenge after the previous day, he had a mindset, and that was really positive,” Yann emphasized. “He attacked around the halfway point of the race, just at the top of a Cat-2 climb. He took a bit of an advantage, but Grenke-Auto Eder had a very strong team; they put a rider with him, and that disorganized the breakaway a bit.”The young Frenchman took the lead with two other riders, but didn’t get much of a gap. “It’s a bit of a pity for us because he only came with a forty-second lead at the bottom of the last, long climb,” added Yann. “It wasn’t enough. With a minute, it might have been possible. He still fought until the end, he even tried on the last downhill, but he wasn’t rewarded. That’s cycling.” After holding on to a reduced peloton at the top of the Col du Mont Tournier, Johan Blanc gave it a try with ten kilometres to go, but it was on the demanding Route de la Rochette, four kilometres from the finish, that the decision was made. Nine riders broke away, and Johan Blanc finished in the first chasing group, twenty-three seconds later, in 19th position. “Of course we came with great ambitions, both for the general classification and a stage victory,” concluded Yann. “It wasn’t easy on the first stages. A few riders suffered from the heat, Johan crashed, but they managed to remotivate, and we finished with the right spirit. We didn’t get the results we were hoping for, but we’ll take the positives. We had five first-year Juniors out of the six riders, and it was their first experience in such a long race. They’ll come back stronger next year.”
