He’s definitely back at the highest level. After a promising comeback on the Tour de Romandie, Rudy Molard scored his very first podium of the season this Saturday on the Tour du Finistère. Side-lined for several months due to a serious concussion, the French puncher placed third within a reduced sprint in Quimper. This is also his best result since his silver medal at the French championships last year. As for Joshua Golliker, he spent most of the day in the breakaway and got the intermediate sprint prize.
Bright sunshine welcomed the riders in Brittany this Saturday for the eleventh round of the FDJ French Cup: The Tour du Finistère. Paul Penhoët was not there to defend his title, but Groupama-FDJ lined up a nice squad around Sam Watson, Rudy Molard, Quentin Pacher, Thibaud Gruel, Eddy Le Huitouze, Sven-Erik Bystrom and Joshua Golliker. Early on, it was the latter who stood out by joining a breakaway of four riders alongside Célestin Guillon (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Antonio Jesùs Soto (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Jonathan Couanon (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur). “There were a few clear favourites on the startlist, like Zingle, Coquard, Cosnefroy or Strong,” explained Philippe Mauduit. “Then, there were some great teams like ours or that of Uno-X. The favorites were quite isolated, and although we didn’t have the best sprinter, the others were surely going to expect us to pull at some point. I didn’t want us to put ourselves in this situation, because Rudy has just come back to competition, and Thibaud and Quentin are coming off a break. Joshua did well by taking the breakaway, and that allowed us not to pull. They got up to eight minutes, but I think everything was always under control, because with almost 3400 metres of elevation gain, we knew it was going to be hard for four riders.”
“The most important was to fight to the line, which Rudy did very well”, Philippe Mauduit
Along the way, the young Englishman took the opportunity to win all six intermediate sprints. Forty kilometres from the finish, the four leaders entered the Quimper circuit with a gap of about three minutes, but it was first a lone man, Idar Andersen, who joined them. The Norwegian kept on pushing, and Joshua Golliker was distanced at that point. In the last twenty kilometres, the chase eventually organized behind the Uno-X rider. “We could see that several teams were interested in pulling, and that everything was falling into place, so we decided to let things happen and go all-in in the sprint as it often happens here,” added Philippe. “Positioning was important, but it is also a race where you should not arrive too much in front at the bottom of the last hill, because there are always riders who come from behind with the momentum of the descent and the drafting”. Idar Andersen was finally caught in the false flat before the flamme rouge, then the final slopes came and reduced the peloton to just twenty men. “We knew that Strong, Zingle or Cosnefroy were a bit faster in the sprint,” said Philippe. “It also came down to freshness. Quentin told us that he was not at his best in the final. He did everything he could to support his mates, then it was a sprint with what was left in the tank. The most important was to fight to the line, which Rudy did very well.”
“It’s a small victory over myself”, Rudy Molard
After a nail-biting sprint, Benoît Cosnefroy claimed victory, but Rudy Molard made a superb comeback to grab third place on the line, which felt like a little rebirth. “I’m very happy, obviously,” he said. “Especially when I see where I come from and where I was two months ago. I can be really satisfied to make the podium today, especially on a finish like this, surrounded by fast guys. It’s beyond my expectations from the morning. I knew that I had taken a step forward in training after the Tour de Romandie, I felt that my form was starting to come back, but I couldn’t imagine a podium today. It means a lot to me. It’s not a victory, that’s for sure, but I still felt a certain emotion when I crossed the line. It’s at least a small victory over myself to get back to this level.” “This third place has absolutely no taste of victory,” claimed Philippe. “On the other hand, it’s a great result for Rudy. It’s just awesome after everything he’s been through since January. This is a reward for his patience and the work well done over the last months. For that alone, he fully deserves this podium. He was already reassured about his condition after Romandie. He came here with confidence, but to take a third place on such a demanding course was far from done at the start. He didn’t give up and he is rewarded for all his efforts.”
Sam Watson (14th) and Quentin Pacher (19th) also entered the top-20 this Saturday while Rudy Molard obtained his first podium in almost a year. “It also makes me optimistic for the future,” he added. “I will continue to work well, and I hope to continue to progress. This is only my second race, and I hope to get back to top form. There are great appointments ahead, I am full of confidence. Slowly but surely, I’m reaching small steps and I’m very happy.” On Sunday, he will be racing again with his teammates on the Boucles de l’Aulne, on a slightly less hilly route. “It is difficult to predict tomorrow’s scenario,” concluded Philippe. “It was 27°C today. It’s the first time this year that it’s been this hot and many riders suffered from cramps. We’ll have to see how everyone recovers. Usually, it comes down to a sprint in Châteaulin, but we’ll need to be careful all day”.
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