Although consistent throughout the week, Groupama-FDJ ended the 2024 edition of the Tour du Limousin-Périgord – Nouvelle Aquitaine on Friday with a feeling of unfinished business. In Limoges, Cyril Barthe took eighth place and Valentin Madouas secured ninth place overall, but the results of the last few days have not lived up to the initial ambitions.
The usual finishing circuit of Limoges was set to conclude the 57th Tour du Limousin this Friday, with the fourth and last stage including 160 kilometres. The hilly final promised action, but the start was just as hectic from Oradour-sur-Glane. “There was a big fight for nearly 80 kilometres, with a lot of attacks and an average speed of 46 km/h in the first two hours, in addition to the heat”, testified Benoît Vaugrenard. “Enzo tried a lot in the first half of the race because we thought that a strong breakaway, with riders who were not dangerous in the general classification, could go far. So we had to be careful.” Despite several attempts, the young man from Groupama-FDJ was unable to escape, and it was eventually the offensive that came after his that managed to go clear. “We got back into a classic scenario, the breakaway gained a bit of time but never much, then Caja Rural attacked before entering the circuit, where it eventually came back all together,” summarized Benoît. In Limoges, Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) led the race for a while, then the Groupama-FDJ cycling team joined the chase with two laps to go with Lenny Martinez.
“We were hoping for a lot better”, Benoît Vaugrenard
“As usual here, there is a lot of movement, but the same thing happens very often: either a sprint finish or a rider who breaks away in the last kilometre”, said Benoît. “We were counting on Paul today, but he didn’t have good legs and he told us so in the last lap. So Cyril took over for the sprint”. The French rider was unable to fight for first place, however, since Mathieu Burgaudeau managed to break away alone in the last kilometre. Thibaud Gruel tried to follow the attack, unsuccessfully. On the line, Cyril Barthe eventually got eighth place. Present in the reduced peloton, Valentin Madouas secured his place in the final top-10 (9th). “The balance is disappointing,” confessed Benoît. “We were hoping for much better on this Tour du Limousin. We got a seventh place at best, and we didn’t come for that given our squad. The guys gave their all, but we came against stronger than us and we were a little overwhelmed at certain moments. We can only hope that this week of racing will serve them well in view of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes.”
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