Just like in 2023, Thibaud Gruel took his very first win of the season on Friday on the Circuit des Ardennes, with the jersey of “La Conti”, which also opened his 2024 counter. After a nice team effort, the latest addition to the WorldTour team proved the strongest on a hill-top finish and took the lead of the general classification. A tough weekend is coming up, however.
After a windy first stage where he secured the most important thing by finishing in the first bunch (7th), Thibaud Gruel had higher ambitions on Friday towards Hardoncelle. “It was a classic stage in the Ardennes, with lots of small roads, which were made a bit slippery by the rain and the mud on the side of the road,” introduced Jérôme Gannat. “In the end, there was a twenty-kilometre circuit to be done twice, with a hill-top finish. It was quite steep, 1700m at 7%, with short portions at 9-10%. It suited Thibaud who won on a similar stage last year, but also Paul Magnier and last year’s winner Mathias Bregnhøj”. Before this much-anticipated fight, six men entered the breakaway, but the peloton stayed in control. Only a few crashes made the day less smooth, including that of Thibaud Gruel. “I fell at kilometre 80 in a slippery curve,” said the young man. “I had nothing serious, neither had the bike, so I got back right away. Scenarios in Class 2 races are quite different from those with the WorldTeam. There aren’t too many moments of rest, it’s always a bit of a struggle. The kilometers go by a bit differently. It was tiring.”
“This victory feels good”, Thibaud Gruel
After a long chase, the day’s breakaway was finally caught in the second of three climbs of Hardoncelle. “In the second time up the hill, there was a bonus sprint, where Thibaud finished seventh,” said Jérôme. “We had planned not to do it 100%, because that would have forced him to make a big effort with twenty kilometres to go. The bunch lost some riders including the yellow jersey.” “I accelerated a bit on the second time up the climb, then in the last lap I settled down and saved my energy as much as possible to come fresh and well positioned at the bottom of the last climb,” added the young man. The peloton remained pretty much together, then the fight for positioning came. “After losing Joshua Golliker and Max Bock yesterday, we were down to four, but the goal was to place Thibaud two kilometres from the finish because there was a narrow road,” Jérôme explained. “Maxime Decomble did a great work then Brieuc Rolland did a good pull until the last kilometre.” “Brieuc and Maxime really positioned me perfectly,” said Thibaud. “It’s a shame there wasn’t TV to show this. I was third at the bottom of the climb when it started to get serious.”
Right in the mix, the 20-year-old then waited for the right time. “The teammates of Bregnhøj made a strong acceleration, and there were just five riders left at 500-600 meters,” said Jérôme. “I made my effort 250 metres from the line, and I took a gap at that moment,” added Thibaud. “I turned around, I saw that I had got clear, and I could put my hands in the air.” The man from Tours even beat his closest competitor by three seconds, and the third by five seconds. He therefore took the lead of the general ranking. “It’s a great day and this victory feels good,” said the young man, a member of the Groupama-FDJ WorldTour team since last month. “Thibaud has a special status,” said Jérôme. “He moved to the WorldTeam earlier than expected, but he was part of our squad at the start of the season. As he says himself, even if he is now competing in the WorldTour, he wants to shine in these races. He put a little pressure on himself because he knew he could do something with this type of finish. He is still a second year u23, he is 20 years old, and he will continue to have a mix of WorldTour and Conti programs. It’s a good compromise because he’s going for the win when he returns to Class 2 races, and it’s always important for a rider to see that little light of victory.”
“We’ll defend the jersey with what we have to hand”, Jérôme Gannat
“La Conti” also took its first win of the season, after only fourteen days of racing. “The team hasn’t raced much since the start of the season, so it feels good,” said Jérôme. “March was very special. Many riders from the team competed in Coupe de France rounds with the WorldTeam. It was necessary for us to gather again in this kind of race, with a team made of climbers/punchers.” This squad will now try to defend the yellow jersey. “Saturday is the famous stage in the Ardennes mountains,” Jérôme explained. “It is only 140 kilometres long but with 3,500 meters of elevation gain, nine classified climbs and some quite hard ones. What’s more, we just have four riders. Thibaud can possibly survive the difficulties, but it will be hard. We’ll defend the jersey with what we have to hand and play it tactically with the other teams. We won’t be able to manage it alone.”
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