The Grand Prix de Fourmies ended this Sunday with a messy finish, and that did not favour Laurence Pithie. Although he was in a good position in the final kilometre, after his teammate Olivier Le Gac led the race in the last hour of racing, the New Zealander was unable to find the right space to deliver a proper sprint. He therefore had to settle for tenth on the finish line.
Around Fourmies, in the North of France, a bumpy route but without major climb was on the menu for the riders this Sunday for the local race. After 200 kilometres of racing, a complete peloton was expected. “It was a typical scenario, as usual here in Fourmies, with a 95% chance that it would finish in a sprint,” said Benoît Vaugrenard. “The morning break didn’t take much time, then we got to the finishing circuit and, as expected, the race opened up again.” With fifty kilometers to go, Jasper Dejaegher (Flanders-Baloise), Clément Bras Afonso (CIC U Nantes Atlantiques) and Jérémy Leveau (Van Rysel-Roubaix) were caught, and several attacks then occurred in the pack on the eleven-kilometre circuit to be covered six times. “It was fast all the time,” added Benoît. “With forty kilometres to go, a 11-man group went with Enzo and Olivier, then Olivier went clear a little later in a group of five. It was good to be one step ahead, because even if there were sprinters, there weren’t the big names of recent years. The goal was to not be one step behind. In addition, we were keeping Laurence for the sprint.”
“Laurence deserved more than tenth place”, Benoît Vaugrenard
At the head of the race, Olivier Le Gac enjoyed a thirty-second lead at best, and still had a small gap of ten seconds starting the last lap. The Frenchman’s attempt eventually ended just seven kilometres from the finish line. “Olivier is getting back in shape after he struggled a lot following the Giro,” explained Benoît. “Today, it went much better and that’s definitely nice to see.” A few late attacks occurred on the way back to Fourmies, but a bunch sprint could not be avoided. Laurence Pithie moved back up nicely at the flamme rouge, in the top ten positions, but the door didn’t open after that. “It’s always a bit messy in Fourmies, you need the right feeling, the right wave, and a bit of luck,” said Benoît. “Unfortunately, Laurence got boxed in by the Tudor’s lead-out man who dropped back. He found himself in the middle of the pack and he’s disappointed because he couldn’t really sprint. It’s a shame because I think he deserved more than tenth place. The winner was stronger, there was definitely room behind him.”
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