Six of the eight riders from the Junior Program competed on Saturday in Belgium, on their own version of the Nokere Koerse, for their first time this year under the team’s colours. Despite a race bothered by several mechanical issues, Jimmy Turgis’ riders performed nicely. Alban Picard’s attack was neutralized in the very last kilometre, while Maxime Mortier, who was in the breakaway for part of the day, finished eleventh.
On Saturday, Johan Blanc, Augustin Fahy, Gabriel Genter, Maxime Mortier, Alban Picard, and Karl Sagnier made up the very first Junior Program’s line-up of the season. For this first race as a team, a Flemish race was on the menu, with 132 kilometres around Nokere and some fifteen cobbled sections. The Nokereberg also served as the finishing climb, but… on the asphalt side. “The approach to the race was very good,” said Jimmy Turgis, the Program Coordinator. “We were staying at a hotel near the circuit, which allowed us to do a recon of the final loop together on Friday. With Yann [Le Boudec], we also did a recon of the big loop to be aware of all the tricky areas. The riders were put in the best possible position to perform.” In the race, it first worked out quite well. After two short-living breakaways, Maxime Mortier took the lead with two other riders and stayed up there until about sixty kilometres from the finish.
“Alban was really strong,” Jimmy Turgis
The scenario was ideal up until that point. “The start of the race went very well,” Jimmy confirmed. “We were all together at the front, well positioned, we avoided numerous crashes, and Maxime was in the breakaway for a long time. It was a very good thing because that was his mission and he fulfilled it perfectly.” Once the young man was caught, another small breakaway developed while the French team suffered a few setbacks. “We had a series of issues, due in particular to the cobblestones,” Jimmy explained. “Our leader-sprinter Karl first punctured. Augustin did his part perfectly to help him get back, while Johan Blanc had a problem with his derailleur around the same time. We had several riders in the middle of the cars. It wasn’t easy. When they managed to come back, there was a crash at the back of the peloton. Augustin paid the price for the split and, due to his many efforts, was unable to get back. Karl was also ruled out before the final battle, due to some other mechanical issues.”
In the final lap around Nokere, the race really exploded, and Alban Picard was up there. “He had to change bikes, and despite that, he managed to break away in the final where we had planned,” Jimmy said. “He was really strong. They found themselves eight in front, but another mechanical problem prevented him from expressing his full potential in the last ten kilometers, and he was finally caught by a small group in the last kilometre.” Around fifteen men from the peloton managed to make a last-minute comeback and then battle for victory. “After his breakaway, Maxime managed to stay positioned at the front of the peloton and finished eleventh in this first group,” Jimmy said. Alban Picard took nineteenth place, with Johan Blanc and Gabriel Genter finishing in the second pack, around 1’20 behind the Belgian winner Thor Michielsen.
“That’s the image we wanted to show,” Jimmy Turgis
“The results are mixed because I think we had the strongest team, and they showed it physically,” Jimmy said. “They rode very well and respected the tasks which were assigned to them during the briefing. The result doesn’t reflect what we were capable of, but that’s also the nature of these cobbled races. It’s still cycling, there are plenty of uncertainties, and today we paid the price a bit. Yet, from a behaviour perspective, that’s the image we wanted to show. One of the goals for the day was to have an attacking, collective attitude, and we achieved that. We were just hoping for a little better from the result perspective, even if this eleventh place is still a great performance for a first-year Junior like Maxime. It was still a good weekend, both for the staff and the riders. I think they discovered and learned a lot of things, and that will allow us to do better next time. I also want to thank the three riders’ parents who were with us this weekend, who helped us a lot, especially with the assistance. This shows once again the family spirit of the team.”
