Freshly back from the Olympic Games, where he claimed a silver medal in the road race, Valentin Madouas showed himself at the front from the start of the Tour du Limousin-Périgord – Nouvelle Aquitaine on Tuesday. The Frenchman indeed entered the day’s solid breakaway, and not only put pressure on the peloton, but also took advantage of it to pick up six bonus seconds. The Brest native was caught ten kilometres from the finish while Paul Penhoët couldn’t deliver his best sprint in Auzances. Orluis Aular won and took the lead in the general classification, in which Valentin Madouas sits fourth place, four seconds down.
As usual in the Limousin region, the profiles don’t tell how hard the stages really are. On Tuesday, the peloton was set to go from Boisseuil to Auzances over 174 kilometres and without major difficulties on the menu. However, the area’s challenging roads still brought the stage’s elevation gain to more than 2,600 metres, which meant it wasn’t going to be an easy day for the riders. It was even less so due to a fast start, and with a very dangerous breakaway including Valentin Madouas going. “If there was a strong breakaway, we preferred to have a rider in front rather than having to chase behind on this Tour du Limousin”, explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “Valentin was not necessarily the rider who had to move, but he saw the opening and he just went. In the end, it was just as well to have him in front because all the big teams had a good card in the breakaway.” “It was not at all planned that I would be at the front today,” confirmed Valentin. “I was just covering moves, and I found myself in front. It was a very good move with very good riders, so there was a good chance that it could go far.” A group of nine was therefore formed with the former French champion but also Gorka Sorarrain Agirrezabala (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Alexis Gougeard (Cofidis), Alex Baudin, Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Obie Vidts (Intermarché-Wanty), Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies) and Louis Barré (Arkéa-B&B Hôtels).
“They put in a great ride”, Benoît Vaugrenard
Although the breakaway was formed, the fight never stopped. The gap only reached one minute after thirty kilometres of racing, and it never increased much further. Several teams joined forces and the battle continued throughout the stage. “At the front, it went well, we took good turns, even if the collaboration could have been even better”, said Valentin. In any case, he took advantage of his presence in the lead to take one and then three bonus seconds in the first two intermediate sprints. Seventy kilometres from the line, the peloton came back at just thirty seconds, but the breakaway also increased the pace, and the weaker riders were dropped. At the first time on the finish line Auzances, with thirty-five kilometres to go, the breakaway still had a half-minute lead and this margin stabilized before the day’s last two climbs. After collecting two more bonus seconds on the way, Valentin Madouas continued to take solid turns in the leading group, which was reduced to four men. “Louis Barré contested the bonus seconds and was maybe afraid of Valentin and Baudin, so he decided not to work anymore”, explained Benoît. “We knew that it would be complicated anyway because the peloton was only twenty seconds behind, but they put in a great ride.”
“I’m really happy with my form”, Valentin Madouas
The four riders managed to come over the first climb of the final with a small lead, but in the second one, the big attacks began in the peloton and the best punchers quickly caught the leading group. Valentin Madouas didn’t manage to hold on to the wheels, but after a very lively sequence, everything got back together with five kilometres to go. The peloton then prepared for the sprint on a slight uphill finish, and Paul Penhoët obviously joined in the fight. “Cyril did a great job to position him until the last kilometre, but Paul had tried to close a gap at the top of the previous climb because a dangerous breakaway was going”, explained Benoît. “He may have paid for this effort in the final. In the last 500 meters, he was at the limit and didn’t have the legs to do a good sprint”. The young Frenchman was therefore unable to battle with Orluis Aular for the win and finished outside the top 10. Valentin Madouas completed the stage in the pack, with the same time as the winner. “The sensations were really good at the start of the race, I was struggling a bit more in the final, but I’m really happy with my form,” he said. “I was hoping we would go all the way, but we maybe would have needed a few more climbs so there wouldn’t be so many riders to chase behind.”
Thanks to the bonus seconds, the French puncher is in fourth place overall, four seconds behind Aular. “We’re in the mix thanks to the bonus seconds, and that’s a good thing, but we were hoping for a better sprint, and we missed out,” concluded Benoît. “So it’s a mixed day. The leader has a solid team, and he won’t be easy to beat.” The terrain, however, could offer some opportunities, as from tomorrow. “There are a series of six climbs in the last sixty kilometres, and with the bad weather that is forecasted, it could be quite a show,” announced Benoît. “It’s going to be a hard day.” “We now need to recover well, tomorrow is another day, but I hope we’ll still be on the attack,” added Valentin.
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