The Tour de l’Ain was to be partly played out this Sunday towards Lélex Monts-Jura, with a “queen” stage featuring 3000 metres of elevation gain. Everything settled in the Col de Menthières, where Jefferson Cepeda proved better than the rest of the competition. Rudy Molard and Rémy Rochas joined the first chasing group and obtained third and eighth places respectively at the finish. The 34-year-old Frenchman is now in third place overall.
Three classified climbs were on the menu this Sunday on the second stage of the Tour de l’Ain, and the second half of the race almost didn’t include a flat portion with the Côte de Giron (11 km at 5%) and the Col de Menthières (10 km at 6%) before a rolling climb towards Lélex-Monts Jura. The start to the day, on the other hand, turned out to be quite calm, as a breakaway formed with Robin Plamondon (CIC U Nantes-Atlantique), Andrea Mifsud (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur), Célestin Guillon (Van Rysel -Roubaix) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) among others. Within the bunch, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team took its responsibilities. “We were aiming for the stage win today,” claimed Rudy Molard. “We controlled a good part of the day, especially in the winding parts. We wanted to make it harder.” “The roads were so tricky that taking control actually protected us on the descents,” said Yvon Caër. “Olivier and Laurence worked at the start of the race, then Sam surprised us. He went further than what I could have imagined on such a hard stage.”
“We gave our best”, Rudy Molard
The British rider was still there after the côte de Giron, fifty kilometres from the finish, and even brought his climbers up to the bottom of the Col de Menthières. “We knew he would struggle on the last climb, and it’s always better to sacrifice a guy to position his mates than to play it safe,” Yvon added. “Everyone did a good job. Rémy and Rudy were in good position, with Reuben, on the last climb.” EF Education-EasyPost, the favourite team on the paper, then took charge and gradually reduced what was left of the peloton. Twenty-six kilometres from the finish, Ecuadorian Jefferson Cepeda produced the first attack. “Rémy followed him but he then exploded because Cepeda was too strong,” explained Yvon. “No one was able to follow him,” Rudy testified. “Behind, EF had the numbers, and every time we attacked, they closed us down. We weren’t able to get away and join a counterattack.” Behind the leading man, around ten men gathered at thirty seconds or so. The final climb towards Lélex-Monts Jura did not really change the situation, and Cepeda won solo.
Twenty-eight seconds later, Rudy Molard snatched third place in a sprint. “I am happy with my legs, we have no regrets,” he said. “I think Cepeda was just above the rest, and we gave our best. We rode very well again as a team, like yesterday. I’m really happy with the team.” “The only small regret is that Rudy didn’t take second place, because I think he had the ability,” Yvon said. “Otherwise, Cepeda was just too strong.” Overall, Rudy Molard slipped into third position, 33 seconds behind the Ecuadorian, while Rémy Rochas sits in fourth place at 38 seconds. “We’ll do everything to follow the best tomorrow, and we have proven that we have good legs,” Yvon said. “We will try to be aggressive in the final, in order to try to turn the situation around. EF Education-EasyPost will have to take responsibility and things can still happen.” “We placed second yesterday, third today, we are third overall,” Rudy concluded. “There is tomorrow left. We will try to win this stage which can also suit us.”
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