Due to rain and a winding route, the opening stage of the Volta a Catalunya this Monday proved even more selective than expected in Sant Feliu de Guixols. A peloton of about forty men came for victory in the final, but Matthew Brennan ultimately claimed it from a trio slightly ahead. Lorenzo Germani was the first Groupama-FDJ rider to cross the finish line, fifteen seconds behind the winner.
Just over 2,500 metres of elevation gain were on the menu for the first stage of the Volta a Catalunya on Monday. However, a sprint was expected on the well-known, slightly uphill finish of Sant Feliu de Guixols after 178 kilometres of racing. The day was first punctuated by a four-man breakaway but was also a bit disrupted by the weather. While the rain came and went in the first part of the race, it then followed the peloton more consistently in the second part, making the race particularly tricky during the last twenty kilometres, along the Catalan coast. “The goal today was to do the sprint with Tom because he has the qualities to perform on this kind of finish,” said Stéphane Goubert, the sports director in Spain. “We also had other options. For instance, Enzo tried to open up the race a little before the last hour, but no one wanted to go for it, so it was a lost cause.” A nearly complete but already stretched out peloton then reached the coast after a long downhill, and the selection gradually happened from the back.
“We’re only starting this Volta a Catalunya”, Stéphane Goubert.
“This final is always tricky,” Stéphane added. “Last year, there were only sixty riders in the first peloton. Today, the conditions made things even harder. Some big leaders were caught behind the splits, positioning played a role, but the legs also count in these moments. Everyone’s body reacts differently to the rain and the cold. Unfortunately for Tom, he was having a bad day, and the weather surely didn’t help.” Continuous accelerations and uphill sections reduced the peloton visibly, while Rémy Rochas was forced to let it go due to a puncture. “The car was too far away to help him immediately, and any chance of coming back was therefore impossible,” said Stéphane. “You had to be brave in this final, and everyone fought as best they could to try to finish in the first group.” Lorenzo Germani and Enzo Paleni were able to stay with the first peloton until the final downhill, before suffering minor splits in the final uphill kilometre.
The Italian eventually crossed the line in 30th position, fifteen seconds behind the winner, Matthew Brennan. “It wasn’t the day we were hoping for, but we’re only starting this Volta a Catalunya,” concluded Stéphane. “We’ll see if the weather gets better in the rest of the week, but we’ll try to find goals every day, especially with breakaways, but not just at the start. Some stages are also ideal for late attacks.”
