As the Tour de France is drawing to a close, another race has started for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team. The Tour de Wallonie indeed began on Saturday, and the first stage concluded with a slightly uphill sprint in Nassogne. Corbin Strong took the victory, while Tom Donnenwirth was the first rider of the team to cross the finish line, in twelfth position. On Sunday, a slightly bumpy route will take the peloton to Sambreville.
It was time to race again for many riders on Saturday in the Tour de Wallonie. And it was a slightly hilly course that was set to kick off the fight around Nassogne, where the finish line was located after a 2.7-kilometre climb at 4%. “The plan was for Tom to go for it if it was a bunch finish, because he’s quite fast in uphill sprints,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. The day nevertheless got off to a rather bad start for the young French puncher, who was caught in a crash after about fifty kilometres while a five-man breakaway had already gone clear. “We were a little scared,” continued Frédéric. “At first, I thought he had broken his collarbone. Actually, he dislocated his shoulder, they put it back on the side of the road, and he was able to get going again.” In the meantime, the peloton peacefully controlled the breakaway in anticipation for the expected sprint. “It was a classic scenario,” added Frédéric. “Israel-Premier Tech and Lidl-Trek pulled, and as the course didn’t include any real obstacles, the chase took place in quite a smooth way.” In the final loop around Nassogne, the peloton gradually closed in on the leading group, which was reduced to two men after the final intermediate sprint about twenty kilometers from the finish.
“Tom wasn’t too confident,” Frédéric Guesdon
Ludovic Robeet, the last man standing from the breakaway, was able tackle the final climb in front, but was logically caught by the pack about two kilometres from the finish. “We wanted to take control in the final, but the guys got a bit outflanked,” Frédéric said. “It wasn’t easy. Kevin, Lorenzo, and Rémy showed good intentions, but it was a bit too hectic for our guys. So Tom was quite far back at the start of the sprint.” However, the French rider did indeed take part in the sprint despite his setback earlier in the day. “With 70-80 kilometres to go, he was a little unsure of himself, he wasn’t too confident and didn’t think he would sprint,” confessed Frédéric. “I told him to wait, that there was still time. In the end, he got caught up in the game, his mates motivated him, and it ended up with twelfth place. We were hoping for a little better, but we also expected the climb to be a little harder.” Corbin Strong eventually won, while all the Groupama-FDJ cycling team riders except Olivier Le Gac finished in the first peloton of around 80 riders. On Sunday, 153 kilometres will be covered between Huy and Sambreville. “The course is a bit undulating,” concluded Frédéric. “We don’t have the fastest guys for flat finishes, so we’ll have to be very careful at the start and why not be offensive.”
