On the 104th Brussels Cycling Classic, this Sunday, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team did everything to give itself a good shot for the win. Unfortunately, despite Thibaud Gruel’s early breakaway, and his work later on in a small bunch alongside Lewis Askey, the final did not go Paul Penhoët’s way. A bit slowed down along the barriers, the young Frenchman was unable to compete for the first positions and had to settle for thirteenth place. Jonas Abrahamsen won with a small gap.
This Sunday, the Brussels Cycling Classic offered a slight glimpse of the “Flemish Classics”, in June. No less than 218 kilometers were on the riders’ program, but above all, the iconic “Muur” of Geraardsbergen had to be climbed twice, just like the Bosberg and the Congoberg. Down to six riders following Laurence Pithie’s absence, Groupama-FDJ still intended to have an impact on the race, and this is what they did from the first kilometres by sending the young Thibaud Gruel to the front. “The plan was to have a rider in the breakaway, even if it wasn’t a big group, hoping that the breakaway would go over the “Muur” the second time in front of the peloton,” explained William Green. “Thibaud was not playing his card, he was there to help later on. He found himself in a very strong breakaway, with a rider from Soudal-Quick Step and Gougeard in particular.” “The plan for me was to be in the early breakaway, which allowed the team to not have to control in the back,” Thibaud said. “I made a lot of effort not to miss the good one, then I found myself in a group of five, then six riders. We rode well, and we went over most of the bergs in the lead.”
“It’s some of the best teamwork I’ve seen all season,” William Green
After the first Muur-Bosberg sequence, about a hundred kilometres from the finish, the gap was reduced to one minute, which allowed Liam Slock to join the break. The seven men then headed towards the second time up the “Muur”, where the proper action started with a few favorites accelerating. “Marc and Matt worked earlier in the race to make sure that Lewis, Paul and Eddy would be positioned well at the bottom of the Muur, and that’s exactly what they did,” added William. “The breakaway was caught, and we had three men in front.” At the bottom of the Congoberg, with about fifty kilometres to go, Thibaud Gruel and his breakaway companions were joined by a group of thirty units including Lewis Askey and Paul Penhoët. Shortly after, the young Frenchman got back to work. “I was able to go over the climb with the first group, then I tried to help and give my last bits of energy, with Lewis, to maintain the gap on the peloton behind,” he said. “This situation suited us quite well.” “We just had Eddy behind,” William added. “If we were caught by the second peloton, it would have helped the other teams more than us. Thibaud was very good today. He did everything he could to make sure that the lead group was not caught, and Lewis assisted him in this. Lewis is someone who can race for opportunities, but he sacrificed himself for Paul.”
Thanks to the work of his two teammates, and especially of an acceleration of the Englishman twenty-five kilometers from the finish, the second bunch was definitively ruled out. The leading group then tackled the last cobbled sector, then the last berg where several attacks brought some confusion, until the offensive of Jonas Abrahamsen and Martin Svrček fifteen kilometres from the line. Lewis Askey tried to lead the chase but didn’t get much support. “It was quite disappointing to see some teams waiting and not really collaborating,” added William. “We took control, we did our best, unfortunately the two riders got away.” The Norwegian even got rid of the Czech rider four kilometres from the line and the chasing group never managed to catch him. Also, four seconds after the winner, Paul Penhoët was unable to make his best sprint in the slight uphill finish, and he crossed the line in thirteenth position. “It’s really frustrating for the team today,” said William. “It’s some of the best teamwork I’ve seen all season, we did what we had to do until the last kilometre and Paul was quite fresh. Then all of a sudden, because they stopped chasing, the road was basically blocked, and Paul couldn’t really move. We are very disappointed.”
“The legs were really good”, Thibaud Gruel
The teamwork didn’t bear fruits on Sunday, but the New Zealand sports director wants to be optimistic for the future: “We still remain focused on the task, we still have full confidence in Paul, and we take this teamwork in the next race, which is the Tour of Slovenia. We’ll keep trying, we showed what we can do today, with only six riders. And all credit to Thibaud, who did exactly what was expected of him.” The young man should line up on the GP Gippingen next. “It was a big day out, with the breakaway first, then the efforts in the final, but the legs were really good, so that’s positive,” he said. “We had a great race. It didn’t work out well, but we did everything we had to do tactically, so we don’t have too many regrets. Personally, I took a break after the Tour de Romandie where I had performed rather well. I think the Boucles de la Mayenne really helped me get back into shape and I’m now good to go for the second part of the season.”
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