Like the previous day on the Classic Loire-Atlantique, Groupama-FDJ tried to light up the race in Cholet Agglo Tour on Sunday. After several attempts by his young teammates, Lewis Askey also gave it a go on the final lap of the circuit, but it was Paul Lapeira who managed to beat the bunch in the last minutes. The British rider eventually took twelfth place in the sprint, one second behind the winner.
This Sunday, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team had a title to defend on the Cholet Agglo Tour, after Laurence Pithie’s superb win last year. Like the day before, the squad led by Philippe Mauduit included Lewis Askey, Matt Walls, Thibaud Gruel but also Joshua Golliker, Noah Hobbs and Brieuc Rolland from “La Conti”. “We had two options at the start,” said the sports director. “A sprint option with Noah and Matt, and a late attack option with Lewis. Given what happened yesterday, we thought that the offensive card was the best one.” The day first began with an unusual incident, since the peloton had to experience twenty-five minutes of neutralization after some fifteen kilometres, while a breakaway of seven had just got away. “A nasty crash happened in a tricky spot which was announced, but with the small and wet roads, it couldn’t be avoided”, added Philippe Mauduit. “As always in such circumstances, there was a bit of panic. The organizers and commissaires were wise enough to stop the race quite quickly, but the bunch still rode well before the decision was shared to the riders.” Shortly before 1 p.m., the race resumed, while one lap of the final circuit in Cholet was removed. The sprinters’ teams took control of the chase, the gap never went over three minutes, and the breakaway eventually got to Cholet, 46 kilometres from the finish, with just a-minute margin.
“Given the circumstances, the guys did everything they could”, Philippe Mauduit
Shortly after, the first of five laps started, and the attacks immediately occurred in the peloton. Thanks to Thibaud Gruel, Brieuc Rolland and Joshua Golliker, Groupama-FDJ also tried to make the race harder in the first two laps. “There were some good sprinters, and we had to avoid taking them to the finish,” said Philippe. “The Cholet circuit is certainly less hard than a few years ago, it is difficult to make a gap, but you always have to try. Our three Conti riders fought well, and Thibaud also showed the extent of his qualities.” However, no gap really opened due to the lack of cooperation of certain teams, more focused on the sprint. Two laps – or 16k – from the finish, the six Groupama-FDJ riders were still in a smaller bunch. However, when a group of seven managed to go clear with 12k to go, Philippe Mauduit’s men weren’t in the mix. As a consequence, they took part in the chase within the peloton, which never lost more than ten seconds. It finally all came back together shortly before the climb of Rue Surcouf (200m at 7.5%). Among the first one to join the leading group, Lewis Askey got back into position and made a big acceleration on this short hill.
“After attacking with 3k to go as he did, he left quite some energy, and the best were in his wheel,” added Philippe. “It was then difficult to do the same in the last kilometre. He may have been a little bit impatient, but that’s always easy to say once the race is over.” Following his attack, the Englishman kept on pushing for a few moments with two riders in his wheel, but the rest of the bunch came back with two kilometres left to go. Then, two men took advantage of a small hesitation to gain a few metres. Among them, Paul Lapeira then managed to stay away from the peloton in the last, slightly uphill kilometre. Just behind, Lewis Askey didn’t manage to find his way through in the sprint and had to settle for twelfth place. “We are of course disappointed with the results of the weekend, but the group was super committed and wanted to do well,” concluded Philippe. “The young guys from La Conti showed determination and fought well. At the moment, we are definitely paying for our seven injured riders. Given the circumstances, the guys did everything they could. The youngsters will return with us in a few weeks or months, and in circumstances that will make their work easier. This weekend was not a gift for them, because they really battled against much more experienced guys, but it was a very good learning experience. I want to highlight their will to do well, their commitment and this weekend will help them progress.”
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