In a 2025 edition of the Tro Bro Léon made quite harsh by the weather conditions, Valentin Madouas experienced quite a race for his first participation in the “Hell of the West”. Nevertheless, the Breton rider left his mark on the event, fighting up front on Brittany’s dirty roads until the final in Lannilis. Although he came up short for the win in the final five kilometres, the former French champion still secured a fine podium finish in front of his home crowd.
If the twenty-nine “gravel sectors” weren’t enough, the weather decided to make it even harder for the riders on Sunday for the 42nd edition of the Tro Bro Leon. The rain indeed followed the peloton from the start and almost never stopped, making the “dirty roads” more dangerous and selective than expected. Given the race conditions, many wanted to anticipate the big fight, and the battle for the breakaway therefore lasted for nearly forty kilometers. In the end, seven riders managed to go clear, including Rudy Molard! “We thought it would be good if he was in front in case a group of five or six broke away,” explained Yvon Caër. “We know he’s good on such a long race, and he could have gone very far. He could have been a support up front while making sure we didn’t have to pull behind. It was a really good move.” The leading group then gained an advantage of around four minutes, while the peloton was already splitting into several pieces by the halfway point.
“It was the worst time to puncture”, Valentin Madouas
Unfortunately, shortly after sector number 19, Groupama-FDJ suffered two setbacks. Rudy Molard was dropped from the breakaway following a puncture, and Valentin Madouas experienced the same incident in the pack. “I really think it was the worst time to puncture with all the splits,” said the Breton. “It was also the moment we wanted to make it hard with the team. Until then, I felt really good, I hadn’t made any mistakes, and I was always well positioned. I had to use a lot of energy to overtake all the groups and get back into the peloton. I then changed wheels again because I had first taken a wheel from the neutral service.” The Frenchman therefore had to make two hard chases in a row, but still made it through the first selection in the peloton with Lewis Askey, Clément Russo, Olivier Le Gac, and Eddy Le Huitouze with about sixty kilometres to go. Shortly after, a pack of about fifty riders crossed the line in Lannilis, just a minute behind a leading duo, but Groupama-FDJ opened up the race again in sector number 11, forty kilometers from the finish line.
Clément Russo made a strong attack, but unfortunately found himself on the ground a few moments later. He was unable to remain up front, but his acceleration caused a split in the peloton, and a dozen riders escaped, including Valentin Madouas and Lewis Askey. This group worked together to hold off the rest of the pack, and then the attacks started with about twenty-five kilometres remaining. The former French champion followed some, made a few counterattacks himself, but Fredrik Dversnes eventually managed to break away on his own just before the last twenty kilometres. In pursuit, the cooperation proved less effective, and the Norwegian was able to enter the last ten kilometres with a thirty-second margin. Lewis Askey then took the lead before the penultimate sector, in Keradraon. “I still believed in victory because I still had energy left,” said Valentin. “I knew there was a chance of coming back.” The Breton took things in hand himself to close some of the gap in the first half of the sector, then in the second, uphill part, hung on to the wheel of Bastien Tronchon, Pierre Gautherat, and Anthony Turgis. At the top of the climb, with six kilometres to go, he just lacked a little something to keep up with the first two competitors. “The bullet I used after my puncture cost me in the final,” he said. “It’s the metre I’m missing to get to the top of the hill on their wheels.”
“I’ll come back,” Valentin Madouas
From then on, the winning move went without him. Fredrik Dversnes crashed after being caught by Tronchon and Gautherat, who finished first and second respectively. Twenty seconds later, Valentin Madouas, however, outsprinted Anthony Turgis for the last available spot on the podium. “I’m obviously a bit disappointed because I wasn’t there at all to take third,” he said. “It was a hell of a race, but I was hoping for this weather. It was an advantage to know the course, and the race was harder this way. I think everything came together, or almost. I was a bit short of luck. Yet, it was a first experience for me, and I’ll come back.” “We were aiming for victory, but we don’t really have any regrets,” concluded Yvon Caër. “We had our share of bad luck, but so did the other teams. The only regret I have is Clément’s crash, which cost him his place alongside Lewis and Val. Tronchon put on a good race and deserved his victory. It came down to details, but we’re still happy that Valentin finished third. Although he’s done almost all the Classics, he was still in good condition to perform as he did today.”
