He did wait for this, but on Sunday, Valentin Madouas finally had his day of glory and grabbed this great, long-awaited victory. In Cassel, the 26-year-old from Brest became French champion after a twenty-kilometre solo, but also after an exceptional team effort throughout the whole race. The Breton puncher even got clear with his teammates David Gaudu and Rudy Molard in the penultimate lap before he flew away alone towards the title. Rudy Molard completed this exceptional day by securing second place, thus bringing a 1-2 to the Groupama-FDJ. On the podium, Valentin Madouas put on the iconic blue-white-red jersey and will show it already next week on the roads of the Tour de France.
Everyone could expect an exhausting French championship on Sunday in Cassel. Yet it exceeded expectations. More than 4000 meters of elevation gain were on the menu for this 2023 edition, drawn over nearly 224 kilometres with no less than the climbs of Porte de Dunkerque (1.5 km at 4.4% on cobblestones) and Porte d’Aire (1.2 to 7.3%, passages over 15%) to cover fifteen times each. Together with the stifling heat, all the ingredients were there to give rise to an epic race. Yet, Groupama-FDJ wanted to leave its mark on the race, in order to take back the tricolour jersey. This is why, from the first kilometres, shortly after 11 a.m., Marc Madiot’s men followed the attacks. Quentin Pacher initially took the lead, but at the end of the first lap, a big move occurred in the peloton and twenty-two riders found themselves in the lead. Among them, eight men from Groupama-FDJ, and not the least: David Gaudu, Thibaut Pinot, Valentin Madouas, Romain Grégoire, Rudy Molard, Quentin Pacher, Bruno Armirail and Olivier Le Gac. “On paper, the man to beat was Alaphilippe, so we wanted to make the toughest race possible”, explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “We could isolate him from the start with a breakaway that suited us, or we could pull behind a break and make a big acceleration 60 kilometres from the finish. The way the race unfolded meant that we found ourselves with numbers in front, and with all our best cards. We couldn’t have asked for better”. “We had to be positioned on the climbs to avoid splits and be in front if a large group went”, added Valentin. “That’s what happened after one lap. We felt good about it and the team did a crazy job from then on”.
“We always had to be one step ahead”, Benoît Vaugrenard
Once the gap was made on the main peloton, Bruno Armirail, Olivier Le Gac and Quentin Pacher made sure to keep a solid tempo at the front of the race in order to maintain the gap while allowing their leaders to save energy. The break’s advantage approached two minutes at best but was reduced to just one minute at the halfway point. At the end of the eighth lap (out of 15), the day’s domestiques gave their last bit of energy as the peloton became more and more threatening. Some favorites and outsiders tried to jump across, but at the head of the race, Groupama-FDJ also kept things lively with Thibaut Pinot, David Gaudu then Romain Grégoire. The young man eventually found himself in the lead with Ewen Costiou, before Rudy Molard and Valentin Madouas joined them with three other riders after another lap of the circuit. “We knew it was important to be one step ahead on this course”, recalled Benoît. “With the heat, it was an endurance race, a war of attrition. All those who tried to come back from behind suffered from it, whereas we could just keep a steady tempo at the front. We knew they were going to get closer at some point, but we had to attack again and always be one step ahead. That was the key.” “From the moment we had this head start, I was trying to ride conservatively”, explained Valentin. “I looked at the duration of the race. I saw 3h, 4h, and everyone was already cooked. To come back up front, you needed to make a big effort, and with this heat, it was difficult to reproduce such an effort afterwards”. “You always pay for your efforts,” confirmed Rudy. “Being in front allowed us to manage the climbs and to be stronger at the end”.
While Valentin Madouas, Rudy Molard and Romain Grégoire were in a group of seven fugitives about sixty kilometres from the end, David Gaudu, Thibaut Pinot or even Enzo Paleni, Clément Davy and Brieuc Rolland found themselves in a very thin peloton with a two-minute gap. The chase however resumed in a very intense way, and at the end of an eleventh lap done at full speed, a big acceleration in the climb of the Porte d’Aire enabled Benoit Cosnefroy, Clément Champoussin and David Gaudu to almost join the race leaders. The Breton climber first took place in a chasing group while Romain Grégoire was distanced, then made it across the front with three laps to go. Ten men therefore remained in the lead, and there were still three riders for Groupama-FDJ. In the following lap, the breakaway kind of broke apart and David Gaudu started the final climb a few meters behind six men including Valentin Madouas and Rudy Molard. However, he took the opportunity to leave his two chasing companions behind, join the leading group and immediately make an attack. “I didn’t expect him to go like that, but everyone sat down, and I made the jump,” said Valentin. The Breton duo immediately opened a gap, and only one other man was able to close it: at the top of the final climb, Rudy Molard came in third position a few seconds behind his acolytes and joined them on the downhill.
“I have achieved a big goal of my season, or even of my career”, Valentin Madouas
A Groupama-FDJ trio then took command of the French championship with two laps to go. “I had a great day and it allowed me to get rid of some competitors”, said David. “However, on the climb, I had to tell Valentin to wait for me because I was at my limit when he countered. After the descent, I told him I would give a last pull. I was cooked and he told me he felt very strong. And then, I knew that the cobblestone climb of Cassel was going to be too hard for me”. “It was certainly a euphoric moment when the three of them went, but with the heat, we knew that it was possible that one or two would struggle with cramps”, added Benoît. About twenty-five kilometres from the goal, David Gaudu therefore let his two teammates continue alone. They quickly gained thirty seconds on the chase including Julien Bernard, Tony Gallopin and Nans Peters, but as soon as they tackled the Porte de Dunkerque climb, Valentin Madouas flew away alone. In a few kilometres, he also increased his lead to almost a minute. “The fact of always being one step ahead allowed me to make my effort later on and it paid off,” explained Valentin. “I knew I could climb at my own pace and handle the descents on my own. Anyway, when we tested the opponents and everyone struggled, we knew we were the strongest. Then, being alone in front also allowed Rudy to rest in the wheels in case it came back. We had two good cards”.
Still extremely efficient after more than 200 kilometres, Valentin Madouas widened his advantage to 1’20 at the time he heard the bell announcing the last lap. A few moments later, he had to change bikes due to a mechanical problem, but his progress was hardly stopped. The Breton never saw the gap fall below the one-minute mark, and it was even more than a minute and a half before approaching the thirty-second and last climb of the day. “We had told Val that he could attack far from the finish”, said Benoît. “We knew he could do it. The only risk was heatstroke and cramps, which is why we remained careful in the final. We only enjoyed it 3-4 kilometres from the finish, when we knew it was done”. As he covered the final climb of the Porte d’Aire, Valentin Madouas also lowered the pressure a little and shed a few tears before heading straight towards the national title. After 5h41 of intense riding, the man from Brest was able to scream his happiness as he crossed the line and wrote the most beautiful line of his prize record. “It’s hard to realize, but above all, I want to thank all my teammates, the team staff, the mechanics”, said Valentin in his first interview. “This title is the result of many things. I’m the one who’s going to wear the jersey all season – and I still can’t believe it – but it’s thanks to all of them. They did a wonderful job and I really wanted to thank them. Since I knew the championship would take place here, I only thought about this. I told all my friends and family to come because I felt good about it. So winning in front of everyone, I have no words… I don’t know if it’s a turning point in my career, but it’s an amazing moment. It was a dream, and I made it happen. Today, I achieved a big goal of my season, or even of my career: to be French champion”.
“A dream race”, Benoît Vaugrenard
After five victories with the pros, a podium on the Tour of Flanders, another on the Strade Bianche and lots of results in the major races on the calendar, Valentin Madouas finally had his day of glory. On Sunday, he also brought the tricolour jersey back to Groupama-FDJ after a remarkable team race, which ended with a 1-2. After covering the attacks of Julien Bernard and Tony Gallopin, Rudy Molard indeed won silver medal in Cassel, as he did in Épinal in 2021. “We came to win, and honestly, we did a perfect race”, commented Rudy. “We couldn’t have done much better today. It’s a great day for Groupama-FDJ. It was a big goal, we achieved it. We can now enjoy it and we can be proud of what we have shown today. I am also very happy for Valentin. He deserves it”. “It’s great that he is rewarded after coming so close to great victories,” said his mate, David Gaudu. “It’s going to be very beautiful, I’m so happy and so proud of him”. Seventh of the championship, Thibaut Pinot was also a happy man at the finish: “I’m so proud to belong to this team. Today, I think we did a spectacular ride and the strongest won. We couldn’t ask for better”. “For a year, Valentin has been targeting this championship,” added Benoît. “He wanted this jersey, and he got it! It will suit him perfectly. We should also note Rudy’s race, which was excellent again today. Most importantly, the team was extraordinary. It was a dream race; it was flawless tactically. In addition to Valentin’s superb victory, they all did a tremendous job and showed solidarity today, in a race that was really extreme”.
From this extreme race therefore emerged a new French champion, who will soon display his new colours. Appointment is made in Bilbao next Saturday. “Now I have to win at the WorldTour level, and I hope to do so on the Tour this year,” said Valentin after singing the Marseillaise. “Valentin will be a superb French champion and we should see him active on the Tour next week”, promised Rudy.
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