Although the final day of racing in Tirreno-Adriatico this Sunday was more eventful than expected, it nevertheless ended with the expected bunch sprint. Once again superbly positioned by Clément Russo, Paul Penhoët was able to express himself one last time in the Italian race, taking fifth place in San Benedetto del Tronto. As for Romain Grégoire, he secured his fifteenth place overall.
From Porto Potenza to San Benedetto del Tronto, the peloton headed north to south along the coast this Sunday to complete the 2025 edition of Tirreno-Adriatico. However, a short detour inland after about fifty kilometres spiced up this final act, with the climb of Ripatransone. Five men, including Mathieu van der Poel, tackled it in the lead, but the peloton quickly got going because of Filippo Ganna’s teammates, and several riders were dropped from the peloton on the day’s only difficulty. Among them, most of the sprinters, including Paul Penhoët. “The stage was faster than expected because Ineos wanted to collect the time bonuses, so there was a high pace all day, and when we got to the climbs, it was really flat out,” said the team’s sprinter. “I really struggled today with my breathing, but Clément and I didn’t lose motivation and we were able to get back into the peloton with a group that included a lot of sprinters.” The fight for the intermediate sprint and its bonus seconds animated the race until about forty kilometers from the finish line, then a slightly calmer scenario returned in the final hour, with the bunch sprint looming.
“This race will do me a lot of good for the next ones,” Paul Penhoët
The tension rose a notch during the final fifteen-kilometre lap, and the Groupama-FDJ team gathered around Paul Penhoët. “We all got back to business and refocused,” said Paul. “We managed to stick to the plan we set this morning with William [Green]. All the guys did a good job on the final circuit, especially Lorenzo in the last five kilometres, then Clément did another great job to position me. We were still quite far back at 800 metres, so we made a big effort to move up, but we had to do it if we wanted to compete for the top positions. I paid a bit for this effort in the final straight, but at least I was able to sprint, and the goal was to have no regrets.” At the front 200 meters from the line, the 23-year-old Frenchman gave his all to secure fifth place on the day. “We had a nice opportunity, and we did pretty well,” said Thierry Bricaud. “Paul also probably lacked a bit of freshness after this grueling Tirreno-Adriatico, but the approach to the sprint was great collectively, and that allowed us to finish the race on a good note.”
In addition to this fourth top 10 of the week, Romain Grégoire also secured the fifteenth place overall. “The results are both mixed and promising,” concluded Thierry. “It’s mixed because we were aiming for a better GC with Romain. For various reasons, we missed a little something to get a top 10 finish, or even better, but that’s also part of his learning curve. We took two stage podiums, and Paul gained some confidence back in the sprints. He’s leaving this race with good morale and should be able to be in front in his next races. For Romain, it’s now about recovering well for Milan-Sanremo next week, where anything is possible.” “Personally, the week’s balance is pretty good,” Paul concluded. “It was my first big stage race of the year and the feelings were better day by day, the recovery was good, and I think this race will do me a lot of good for the next ones.”
