The Groupama-FDJ United Cycling Team is right on pace on Slovakian soil. After three of the five stages, the French team has secured two top-10 finishes through Matteo Milan (5th and 7th), well supported by his teammates in the sprints. Maxime Decomble also stepped up during the first battle among the overall contenders on Friday, although he was denied a notable result by the last-gasp return of a small peloton. Another bunch sprint and a summit finish await this weekend.
A year after its development team, it was the Groupama-FDJ United WorldTour squad that took the start of the Okolo Slovenska on Wednesday. Nevertheless, three representatives of “La Conti” were part of the line-up, primarily to support Maxime Decomble in the general classification and Matteo Milan in the sprints. It was, in fact, a bunch sprint that kicked off the action in the opening stage. “It was a fairly standard day behind the breakaway,” Jérôme explained. “The finish was on an urban circuit that we knew quite well, with a corner 350 metres from the line. The team’s goal was to be at the front at that point so that we could ideally launch Matteo.” The plan was executed perfectly in the closing kilometres in Košice. “The team worked really well,” Jérôme said. “We first stayed in a good position with Yann [Dubois] and Rémi [Daumas], then with Maxime inside the final two kilometres. Blake [Agnoletto] then did a huge turn just over a kilometre from the finish, followed by Cyril’s lead-out. We entered the corner at the front, Cyril launched at 225 metres to go, and then Matteo hesitated slightly.” That allowed Paul Magnier to power away to victory, while the Italian had to settle for fifth place at the finish. “It hadn’t been an easy day, with 2,500 metres of climbing, and the peloton wasn’t complete either,” Jérôme added. “The repeated climbs had taken a little out of Matteo, and he wasn’t able to deliver all his power in the sprint.”
“High marks for the team in the sprint preparation” – Jérôme Gannat
Fortunately, a second opportunity came as early as Thursday, despite another hilly route featuring almost 2,700 metres of elevation gain over 185 kilometres. “The peloton rode at a steady pace almost all day behind the breakaway, but it was quite exhausting because of the rain, the fairly cool temperatures, and the fact that we climbed up to an altitude of 1,200 metres.” The expected sprint did take place, but the battle was much tougher than on the opening day. “The final circuit was even more technical than the day before, with a succession of corners starting three kilometres from the finish,” Jérôme explained. “As on the previous day, the goal was to take control during this section, and then the final corner was 200 metres from the line, making it even more strategic. We absolutely had to go through it at the front because it was almost impossible to move up afterwards.” As they had done on the first stage, the Groupama-FDJ United riders initially did an excellent job of keeping their Italian sprinter at the head of the peloton, but the outcome wasn’t as successful. “Blake and Cyril led as planned during the final kilometre,” Jérôme continued. “Matteo wanted to launch his sprint before the corner, but he couldn’t. He got boxed in on his right, couldn’t move up, and went through the corner in seventh position. He tried to move back up in the finishing straight, but it was too short, even though he was more explosive than the day before.”
At the finish, the young Italian nevertheless secured his second top-10 in two days (7th). “From the standpoint of sprint preparation, the team deserves high marks,” Jérôme added. “It was a little beyond our expectations given the composition of the group, with a lot of climbers and riders who aren’t used to fighting for position and who don’t often race together. The performance on the first day gave them confidence, and everyone was fully committed.” The Groupama-FDJ United wanted to maintain that level of commitment on Friday, for the first potentially selective stage of the week. Although the third stage featured just 2,000 metres of elevation gain, the final climb, around 25 kilometres from the finish, included three kilometres averaging almost 10%. “We really got involved just before that climb to position Maxime as well as possible,” Jérôme said. Then, on the steepest slopes, the battle began, and the young Frenchman managed to establish himself in a second group behind Lennert Van Eetvelt and Henrique Bravo. “At the summit, he was around 20 seconds behind with Meehan,” Jérôme continued. “They lost a little time during the first part of the technical descent, and then it became a head-to-head battle between the two pairs.” Thanks to the Frenchman’s strong time-trialling abilities, the gap gradually closed on the flat section leading to the finish, and the duo even joined the leading riders with four kilometres remaining, after a very strong chase.
“We haven’t been rewarded for our efforts” – Jérôme Gannat
A few moments later, Maxime Decomble tried to surprise his breakaway companions, but without success, and the quartet subsequently tried to work together until the final kilometre. “Unfortunately, things were well organised in a group of around thirty riders behind, and they came back very quickly as the sprint approached,” Jérôme recounted. “Maxime pulled hard with 500 metres to go to try to keep them away, but only Van Eetvelt was able to hold off the fastest riders in the peloton.” The Groupama-FDJ United leader therefore had to settle for 13th place on the line, followed by his teammate Yann Dubois in 14th, with Rémi Daumas crossing the line seven seconds later. “It’s a shame that Maxime reached the top of the climb a little too far behind the duo, because if the four of them had worked together rather than using up their strength in that battle, they could have made it to the finish,” Jérôme concluded. “We come away empty-handed from that chase. Overall, we haven’t been rewarded for our efforts during these first three days, whether in the sprints or with Maxime today. But the team’s attitude and commitment have been very good. There’s one more stage tomorrow, followed by the ‘Slovak Mont Ventoux’ on Sunday.”