In Lissone this Sunday, Romain Grégoire came close to his second victory of the season. After a very lively race on the Coppa Agostoni, on which he really made an impact together with his teammates, the young Frenchman eventually took second place in a four-man sprint, only beaten by Marc Hirschi. He therefore scored his fifth podium of the season, and he will back on Tuesday in the Tre Valli Varesine.
An “up-and-down” day was on the cards this Sunday in Lombardy all around Lissone. Out of the 168 kilometres on the riders’ menu, only the first twenty and the last thirty did not include any climb. The rest of the course was a hilly circuit to be repeated four times, with the consecutive climbs of Sirtori (1.5 km at 5.6%), Colle Brianza (3.7 km at 6.3%) and Lissolo (2 km at 6.6%). “We expected a very fast and nervous race from the start,” Romain Grégoire introduced. “The whole team took the race from the right end, and when I saw a big move of around twenty riders go, I didn’t hesitate much to go with it.” “First there was a small breakaway with Rémy, then a big chasing group went with Romain and Lorenzo,” Thierry Bricaud added. “Almost all the strong men were up there, except Marc Hirschi.” At the front, the Groupama-FDJ riders therefore tried to make the most of it. “It was an ideal situation for us, because we got a step ahead of UAE Team Emirates, and they were the ones I feared the most this morning,” Romain continued. “Collectively, it was very good. We took responsibility, especially with Lorenzo who pulled a large part of the time at the head of the group to try to keep that lead. It’s really the way I like to race, when the guys are there, around me at the front, and when we take things in hand. It really gives me confidence, and an extra boost for the final.”
“The guys showed great motivation,” Thierry Bricaud
The gap between this first group and the “peloton” constantly fluctuated between thirty seconds and one minute, but another race started when Marc Hirschi bridged across on the penultimate lap of the circuit. “On a route like this, the legs do the talking, and Hirschi managed to make the jump in the middle of the race,” said Romain. Around thirty men eventually tackled the last lap in the lead, and Rémy Rochas immediately attacked with four riders. “The goal was to always be one step ahead in order to fight for the win, to have someone in front so as not to chase behind, and also to have a satellite rider for Romain if it came back,” said Thierry. “That’s what happened, the guys showed great motivation.” On the penultimate climb of the day, Marc Hirschi made a first attack, only three men were able to catch his wheel, including Romain Grégoire, but the whole group actually got back together before the very last climb. Right from the bottom, the Swiss rider went for it again, and the Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ managed to follow once again. The same four riders then broke away, with Paul Lapeira and Alex Aranburu. “We knew that Romain would be up there if it came down to the legs,” Thierry said. The leading group crossed the summit about twenty seconds ahead of the rest of the competition, and even briefly reduced to three men.
After he was distanced on the last slopes, Aranburu nevertheless managed to come back on the descent, and the four riders then started a thirty-kilometres fight with the chasing group. Their advantage initially exceeded a minute, but then dropped back to only twenty seconds. “The four of them are fast, and that’s why they looked a bit at each other,” Thierry explained. “That allowed the counterattack to come back very close. We had to stay calm, and Romain was. The problem is that the last 35 kilometres didn’t include any climb. Lapeira also had two teammates behind and was using it not to pull too much. Aranburu had shown his limits, so he wasn’t collaborating too much either. Hirschi and Romain really wanted it to go all the way. They had no interest in the chasing group to come back, and they also knew they were strong, so they worked a bit more.” “I didn’t want to be caught, but I also had confidence in my sprint,” added Romain. “With Hirschi being the major favourite, I hoped that the others would let him make the effort if I attacked. I accelerated a few times, but if someone was chasing me straight away, I would stop immediately because I still wanted to secure a good result at the finish.”
“I can be happy with second”, Romain Grégoire
The Groupama-FDJ rider briefly tried on a slight uphill section at eight kilometers, then on the flat with five kilometres to go, but Marc Hirschi never let him the slightest gap. Alex Aranburu tried to go solo in the last three kilometres, but the quartet finally came together for a reduced sprint. “I think I played it well in the sprint”, said Romain. “Aranburu went from very far, then Lapeira also went, and I took Hirschi’s wheel at 400-500m. I just had to get past him, but the legs decided, and he was just a bit stronger”. On the line, the 21-year-old therefore secured second place. “I think I can be happy with it; I think I did a good race”, he concluded. “I don’t have any regret, even if I’m obviously disappointed to come second because I was there to win.” “It’s an important result for him,” added Thierry. “We know that he’s moved up a gear again this season, but that doesn’t really translate into the results, as he hasn’t won much. Even if it’s not a victory, it’s still a nice second place. There’s still the Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday and Il Lombardia after that. The goal is to get a win before going on holiday.”
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