The fifth and final stage of the 2024 Tour de Romandie didn’t feature any major difficulty this Sunday around Vernier, but the day really got harder due to the weather conditions. In the rain, the circuit caused some damage and several attacks. Enzo Paleni made an attempt twenty kilometres from the finish, but a 70-man sprint eventually concluded the day. Dorian Godon claimed victory, and Thibaud Gruel joined the party for another ninth place. Lenny Martinez and David Gaudu secured their 8th and 14th positions overall.
The week in Romandie was set to conclude on Sunday with a circuit race around Vernier. Four loops of 35 kilometres had to be completed on a slightly hilly terrain, before the last ten kilometres outside the circuit to reach the Swiss town’s city centre. The climb to Dardagny (1.6 km at 4%) appeared to be the biggest difficulty of the route, but it was the weather which actually made the race harder for the riders. “We knew it was a very technical circuit, and even more so in the rain,” introduced William Green. “The plan was for Enzo to be in the breakaway and create an opportunity. Unfortunately, a lot of people were interested as well, and this did not make for a strong break at the end.” Four riders ended up in front, namely Rémi Cavagna, Darren Rafferty, Marco Brenner and Alexandre Balmer, while the peloton stayed two minutes behind the four leaders. Starting the last lap, the gap was reduced to one minute, and on the last climb of Dardagny, the attacks started in the pack. The breakaway was quickly caught, and many riders were dropped from the back. After a few moves from the favorites, Enzo Paleni seized his opportunity with a bit more than twenty kilometres to go.
“It was a great week”, Thibaud Gruel
The young Frenchman took a small gap, avoided the crash of another rider going downhill, but did not enjoy a wait-and-see approach in the peloton. After a few minutes in the lead, he was caught and found himself with David Gaudu, Lenny Martinez and Thibaud Gruel. “The rainy weather made things a bit more complicated today,” Lenny said. “Regarding the overall, we could not gain time, but we could lose some. So we had to be careful with the splits, and that’s what I did very well.” “We looked after Lenny throughout the stage, and we also supported Thibaud,” William continued. “We wanted to have him sprint again.” In the last ten kilometres, the 19-year-old stayed perfectly at the front of the peloton. “It was a fast stage, and with the conditions, you had to be positioned in order to avoid making too much effort,” he said. “It was pretty hard, but I felt good.” So much so that he entered the final kilometre in second position of the bunch, which was heading towards a reduced sprint. “I was a bit too early in front, and everyone came back from behind,” he confessed. “After the last corner, I was ninth, and I didn’t manage to make up positions, but it was not bad still.”
As in Fribourg, Thibaud Gruel therefore secured a top-10, which made for two top results in his first appearance at this level. “Today, he took ninth place in the sprint on his own,” added William. “This shows his potential.” “I’ll take a lot from this Tour de Romandie,” said Thibaud. “I made good efforts and experienced the high pace of the WorldTour. The level was high, but I liked it, and it was a great week.” Lenny Martinez and David Gaudu finished in the first bunch, securing their eighth and fourteenth places in the general classification. “Overall, it was a very good week,” concluded William. “Obviously, there was a very high level here and for Lenny to be eighth again in a WorldTour stage race is really promising. David showed that he is definitely back and is on time for his real goals. With four stage top-10s and an eighth place overall, the team can be happy.”
No comment