The good news came from the Czech Republic on Friday! On the first road stage of the West Bohemia Tour, following a prologue marked by Titouan Fontaine’s solid seventh place, Reef Roberts indeed took the win in Rokycany. On the attack in the last forty kilometers of the day, the young New Zealander got the better of his breakaway companions in the final sprint and claimed his first success with “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ. He now sits in third place overall, Titouan Fontaine is fifth, before the last two stages.
Before getting together in the peloton, the riders lining up at the start of the West Bohemia Tour, a race launched in 2024, were to enter the competition individually on Thursday. A very short prologue of 3,700 metres was on the menu, but more importantly, it was uphill, averaging 5%, with a last kilometre at almost 7%. In this particular stage, everyone pushed hard to establish the best possible time, and it was Titouan Fontaine who did best within “La Conti” by taking seventh place of the day, seven seconds from the Belgian winner Mauro Cuylits. A good start for “La Conti”, only represented by four men in the Czech Republic. Friday, the first road stage was a large 150-kilometre loop around Rokycany. “There were five classified climbs, but it was mainly very hilly with 2,500 metres of elevation”, explained Jérôme. “We also looked at how it unfolded last year, and the race was quite weird, with a lot of victorious breakaways. We were wary of such a scenario, so the goal was to be careful at the start. Eventually, only three riders came out after fifteen kilometres and some teams controlled.”
“It’s nice to finally see my efforts pay off”, Reef Roberts
After a quiet first half of the race, things got crazy, however, at the halfway point. “We noticed that there was tailwind from km75, before a series of hills,” said Jérôme. “Everything changed drastically, since there were attacks all over the place, and the peloton had trouble controlling”. “I was towards the front in the two steep climbs, then it eased up a bit,” said Reef Roberts. “Titouan gave it a go at first, then he told me to go. I thought “why not”. I gave it a crack, it worked out and we took a gap. More people joined us, then we caught the two guys from the breakaway. We weren’t working perfectly, but still well enough to keep a gap on the peloton. Thirty kilometers from the finish, I started to think we could make it. “ Twelve riders found themselves at the front, while a chasing group of nine got clear behind them, with Titouan Fontaine and Rémi Daumas representing “La Conti”. “It was really a good situation for us,” said Jérôme. In the back, the bunch failed to get organized, and the first two groups went on to fight for victory.
After getting over the last few hills fifteen kilometres from the line, a long, slightly downhill section took the riders to the finish, where the first group managed to stay away from second by just a few seconds. “Coming into the last kilometre, a Lotto rider attacked,” said Reef. “I was a little worried, but a guy from Astana closed it for his teammate and it was perfect. Before the last corner, 300 metres to go, I was in fifth wheel. Maybe I was a bit far back, but I knew that I had a good sprint and very good legs, so I launched 250 metres to go, and I managed to hold everyone off. “ The 18 -year-old man therefore secured his first win in the U23 ranks, and his first also in the jersey of “La Conti”. “It portrays all the hard work I’ve been putting in this year, and it’s nice to finally see my efforts pay off,” he said. “Reef was a little disappointed with his prologue yesterday, but he was revengeful and in good shape today,” added Jérôme. “We know that he likes breakaways, that he likes to be at the front, but he especially impressed us by winning this sprint in a strong way”.
Behind their teammate, also the best young rider on GC, Titouan Fontaine and Rémi Daumas took 13th and 21st places respectively of the day, at seven seconds. Overall, Reef Roberts now sits in third, four seconds from leader Federico Savino, while Titouan Fontaine is fifth at eleven seconds. “Tomorrow, we will have 2,500 metres of elevation again, but with a climb of eight kilometres at 6% after fifty kilometers,” concluded Jérôme. “There will then be almost a hundred kilometres to reach the finish, and it could therefore come back together a bit.”
