On the eve of the decisive stage of the Boucles de la Mayenne around Pré-en-Pail-Saint-Samson on Saturday, the Groupama-FDJ United Cycling Team is right up there in the general classification. Fifth and ninth in Thursday evening’s prologue, Thibaud Gruel and Maxime Decomble currently sit six and ten seconds respectively behind the race leader. On Friday, the first stage, which ended in a bunch sprint, even allowed the rider from Tours to collect a bonus second along the way.
As usual, it is in Laval and with an explosive prologue that the Boucles de la Mayenne once again got underway this year. On a course similar to last year’s, which he had mastered in six minutes and forty-six seconds to claim victory, Thibaud Gruel was nevertheless unable to retain his “crown.” Starting among the very last riders, the young French puncheur had to settle for fifth place, seven seconds behind winner Julius Johansen. “The small regret is that coming out of a corner, because of a slightly bumpy road surface, his chain came off and he probably lost at least two seconds getting going again, as he freewheeled for about twenty metres,” explained Yvon Caër. “Without that, he probably could have finished third, although victory still seemed out of reach regardless. For him, it’s another strong confirmation, but at the same time Maxime also delivered a very good performance.” The bronze medalist from the last Under-23 World Time Trial Championships indeed posted the ninth-fastest time, ten seconds behind the winner. “On such a short and explosive effort, it’s a very pleasant surprise,” Yvon continued. “Rudy also set a good time as well (33rd at 21 seconds), and the prologue got our race off to a solid start.”
“We have the weapons to fight”–Yvon Caër
On Friday, however, a bunch sprint was expected in Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne after 172 kilometres. “Given the quality of the sprint field, we knew it would be difficult to compete for the win,” Yvon explained. “So, considering that only one rider from the breakaway was still ahead with two laps to go, we chose to contest the last intermediate sprint for the bonus seconds. Kevin and Lewis led out Thibaud, who picked up one second. Thibaud could then have tried to go for the stage sprint, but he needed to recover and was never able to move back up because the peloton was completely packed together. Going for both the bonus sprint and the final sprint was a bit ambitious, so we preferred to fully commit to the bonus sprint rather than hope for a podium finish against such a strong field.” While Olav Kooij won the sprint, Thibaud Gruel held onto fifth place overall and is now within the same second as the rider in third place. Real time gaps, however, are expected to come tomorrow during the queen stage of this Boucles de la Mayenne. “I can’t remember a stage featuring five laps of this circuit, 3,500 metres of climbing, and 215 kilometres,” Yvon concluded. “Add the heat to that, and there will inevitably be a selection. The level is extremely high, but if we’re strong enough, we can still be there in the final because Rudy, Maxime, and Thibaud are all going well. Kevin can also stay with them deep into the race. We have the weapons to fight all the way to the finish.”
