A few days before Il Lombardia, the grand finale of the season for many riders, Groupama-FDJ had high expectations for the 3 Valli Varesine this Tuesday, facing more or less similar competition. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of Valentin Madouas and Rudy Molard in the final, the top 10 was decided in a reduced bunch sprint, in which Brieuc Rolland claimed fourteenth place.
A year after it was interrupted and cancelled due to weather conditions, the 3 Valli Varesine was set to take place under bright sunshine this Tuesday in Lombardy, where the traditional route was on the menu. The peloton therefore had to complete eight laps of a circuit including the double ascent of the Salita dei Ronchi (1.9 km at 5.3%) and Montello (2 km at 5%), then two longer loops which, in addition to these same difficulties, also included the climb to Barasso and its ramps approaching 10%. In total, more than 3,000 metres of elevation gain were to be covered over the 200 kilometres on the program, suggesting a proper fight between the strongest men. In the first part of the race, five men formed the breakaway, and Enzo Paleni briefly tried to join them at mid-race, shortly before other teams tried to anticipate the final battle, and the expected attack from Tadej Pogacar. With more than eighty kilometres to go, the counterattacks started in the peloton, and in the first of the two long laps, a few outsiders even made a few accelerations.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted,” Benoît Vaugrenard
Although the peloton was already reduced by half starting the final lap, with thirty-five kilometres to go, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team still had almost all of its riders up there. However, when the fight resumed in a more intense way, on the Montello climb, Benoît Vaugrenard’s protégés were unable to keep up with the acceleration of Isaac Del Toro and Tadej Pogacar. A few kilometres later, the world and European champion took off for another solo raid. “That’s more or less the scenario we expected,” Benoît said. “We knew winning would be difficult, we have to be realistic, but we also knew it was possible to fight for the top 10, with our goal being a top five.” It was with this in mind that Valentin Madouas attempted to break away from the peloton on the Barasso climb. However, he just missed about ten meters to catch a chasing group that included Tom Pidcock, Primoz Roglic, and Isaac Del Toro.
While the leading rider was untroubled in the closing kilometres, the peloton managed to join the chasing group, which meant the battle for the “remaining places” were open again at the bottom of the final “Salita dei Ronchi.” “Rudy was strong because he was behind a split at the foot of the climb, he came back alone, then attacked,” Benoît said. However, the French puncher was unable to really go clear against a group of around thirty men, who then sprinted forty-six seconds behind Pogacar. Brieuc Rolland (14th) and Rudy Molard (16th) narrowly missed out on the top 10, while Clément Braz Afonso (26th) also finished in this group. “It’s frustrating because the team was doing well, but we didn’t get the result we wanted,” concluded Benoît. “There were still a lot of guys in the final, and we missed a little something in terms of strategy and communication. We can regret the split after the last descent. They made efforts that they probably lacked for the top 10. It’s a pity.”
