Tom Donnenwirth only lacked the final push this Sunday to make La Roue Tourangelle a true success. In the mix in the last fifteen kilometers toward Tours when the strongest riders broke away, the French puncheur unfortunately couldn’t finish his day in the best way in the sprint, ultimately taking eleventh place.
The FDJ United Series calendar resumed this Sunday with its third round: La Roue Tourangelle Centre Val de Loire – Groupama P.V.L. Two hundred kilometers and a rolling finale awaited the peloton, setting the stage for a battle between puncheurs and sprinters. Initially, the latter took control of the race. “For 140 kilometers, three teams controlled the chase behind the breakaway,” explained Tanguy Turgis, sports director of the Groupama-FDJ United Cycling Team. “For us, the plan was to make the race hard on the climbs and place Tom at the front, while keeping Matteo at the back in case of a sprint.” After a long, controlled chase, as expected, tensions rose entering the final forty kilometers and approaching the multiple climbs. Early accelerations occurred, the selection started to form from the back, but Groupama-FDJ United stayed perfectly vigilant at the front. “The guys showed a great attitude, even though the team is very young, with three current ‘La Conti’ riders and three others who were still at that level last year,” said Tanguy. “Matteo was perfectly positioned at the foot of each climb, and Lewis launched an early attack before suffering a minor crash. That disrupted our plans a little, and Blake had to work for two or even three.”
“It could have been a very good day” –Tanguy Turgis
Through the first climbs, the peloton remained relatively compact. It wasn’t until sixteen kilometres to go that a half-dozen riders managed to break away, with Tom Donnenwirth. “Another group came back a few kilometers later with Eliott, but he cracked on the next climb,” Tanguy noted. “He was struggling a bit after making efforts earlier than planned.” With nine kilometres remaining, a group of fifteen riders surged ahead, leaving the peloton more than forty seconds behind. “We decided to focus on the sprint because there were three Cofidis riders and three TotalEnergies riders in that group,” Tanguy explained. There was indeed a reduced sprint in Tours, and Tom Donnenwirth fought to approach it in the best possible position. “He was very well-placed, on Venturini’s wheel,” added Tanguy. “He launched on the left side, but his start was slightly disrupted by holes in the road, and when he accelerated again, his legs were empty. He was just a bit short. He lacked that final effort.” The French puncheur could therefore not contest the win, claimed by Venturini, and crossed the line in 11th place. “He was there to win, and it’s a shame he fell just a little short,” Tanguy concluded. “Unfortunately, we can’t be satisfied with that. It’s frustrating because the team showed a great attitude, which was very noticeable between 40 and 15 kilometers to go, but that doesn’t really show in the result. It’s a shame because it could have been a very good day.”
