After two mixed first stages, “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ could have ended the Tour de Eure-et-Loir in the best possible way on Sunday. However, the expected sprint in Chartres did not take place due to a course error in the last kilometre, and Noah Hobbs was therefore unable to show his top speed. The development team eventually left its final stage race of the season with a top-5 and a top-10 in the bags.
On Friday, a field of twenty teams gathered in Le Coudray for the start of the Tour de l’Eure-et-Loir, heading to Mignières over a little over 145 kilometres. “It was a difficult day,” said Jérôme Gannat. “The Eure-et-Loir department is not particularly known for being mountainous, but it was a windy stage, suitable for the echelons. These started quite late, after 80 kilometres. The peloton broke into several pieces, and fourteen riders found themselves behind the three fugitives, including Noah and Titouan. The last survivor of the break was caught nine kilometres from the finish, but with four kilometres to go, Antoine L’Hote went away and won solo. Three other riders managed to go clear, Noah fought for fifth place in the peloton, and he finished fifth. Titouan tried to close the gaps in the final, but it was hard. Everyone was a bit tired, and it came down to freshness. The feeling was a bit mixed because Noah could certainly have won the stage if it had come down to a sprint.” Four riders from “La Conti” ultimately finished in the peloton on day 1.
“It leaves us with a bitter taste”, Jérôme Gannat
On Saturday, Jérôme Gannat’s men struggled a bit more. “In Eure-et-Loir, there is a very hilly region called Le Perche”, continued the French sports director. “There were about a hundred kilometers to reach that point, then there was a big fight. Several groups broke away one after the other, and in particular a group of eleven riders where we weren’t present. This group was caught by about forty men three kilometers from the finish, and we had two riders, Ronan and Maxime. Maxime took part in the chase for the sprint with Ronan, who is quite fast, but he was boxed in a bit, and he was also a bit cooked. The sprint came after two hundred tiring kilometres, and he was not able to sprint properly.” Valentin Tabellion claimed victory and Antoine L’Hote kept the overall lead. A very last opportunity was therefore to be seized on Sunday for “La Conti”, between Vernouillet and Chartres, over 190 relatively flat kilometres. “There was still quite a fight”, said Jérôme. “It was very fast all day because fourteen riders went right away, including Titouan. They had a maximum lead of one minute, then the breakaway gradually reduced and Titouan held on well. Eventually, we headed towards a sprint finish, and we were very well positioned.”
Unfortunately, nothing went as planned. While the train was ready to lead out Noah to perfection, everything went up in smoke after a general mistake in the last kilometre. “It’s very rare for a whole peloton to be caught out,” explained Jérôme. “At 500 metres, there was the sports directors’ exit, which was on a nice road, following the one the riders were on. The camera motorbike took this exit, and the peloton followed automatically even though the 500-metre sign was on the other lane. Our riders followed the move. It’s a shame, but everyone actually followed. We had studied the finish carefully, but when the first ones go, everyone follows. So everyone was caught out, apart from those who had sat up or even dropped off a bit! So they were the first ones to cross the line by taking the right route. It’s frustrating because it was almost a guaranteed win for us… On a finish like that, Noah is very strong, and he was definitely the fastest in this peloton.” In the back as the final sprint set up, Maxime Decomble then took sixth place on the stage. “Everyone is disappointed because we could have finished in a good way and left Eure-et-Loir satisfied,” concluded Jérôme. “It was the penultimate race for almost everyone, and it was also an opportunity to take a twelfth victory. It leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouths. We can’t go back in time, but it’s frustrating for the riders, for Noah, or even for Ronan who needs results.”
There are now only two races left to compete as a team for “La Conti”, at the end of the week, with “Il Piccolo Lombardia” and Paris-Tours U23.
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