A few days after the start of the season on the other side of the planet, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team also opened its European calendar this Sunday. Seven riders from the squad completed their training camp in Calpe by taking part, not far from there, in the Gran Premi València. After a hard final, Marc Hirschi took victory while Clément Braz-Afonso was the first rider from the team to reach the finish, in 22nd position.
Complete change of scenery on the Gran Premi València. After several editions suitable to the sprinters, the Spanish race offered a much more selective course this year, with first the Coll de Rates (6.7 km at 5.2%) but more importantly the Alto de Turron Duro (3.5 km at 9%) as the key point of the day. This was therefore the menu for the seven Groupama-FDJ riders who returned to action this Sunday. “We had been training in Calpe since January 15th,” explained Yvon Caër. “We choose to end this training camp with a race, so that those who are going to the Grand Prix La Marseillaise and the Étoile de Bessèges could have a taste of competition beforehand”. With only three men joining the day’s breakaway, the first half of the race proved quite calm. Things got serious as the riders approached the Coll de Rates, after one hundred and forty kilometres. “The main goal was to get back into the swing of things right away with a collective and determined attitude, which we achieved,” Yvon said. “Then we wanted to go for a result with Thibaud while giving Clément carte blanche. Cyril and Johan had to position the group, Valentin, Lorenzo and Paul had to go as far as possible.”
“I’m happy with the attitude”, Yvon Caër
The climb of the Coll de Rates did not make any real selection, but Lorenzo Germani took advantage of the downhill to take the lead for a few minutes within a small group. However, the steep Alto de Turron Duro, twelve kilometres from the finish, was too much for the Groupama-FDJ men, who were unable to join in the battle for victory. After descending towards La Nucía, Clément Braz Afonso reached the line within a group battling for the top 20, thirty-six seconds behind the winner Marc Hirschi. “We missed a little something physically, firstly because the final was very hard and because the riders were at the end of a big block of training, but we gave it our all with the legs of the day,” said Yvon. “They got the chance to make very significant efforts at the end of a very intense training camp. I am happy with the attitude, and despite a result that may seem disappointing on paper, I’m satisfied with today. I am convinced that for all these riders, the next sequence of racing will be very positive.”
