The riders did not have an easy time on Tuesday, in the opening stage of the Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine. Due to a fierce fight for the breakaway and then an intense chase at the end of the race, the pace never really slowed down heading towards Cognac. Attentive and offensive, Enzo Paleni managed to join a strong group at the halfway point, then to stay away from the peloton until the finish. The young rider from Groupama-FDJ, however, had to settle for fifth place of the day, twelve seconds ahead of his teammate Paul Penhoët, winner of the peloton sprint.
The week’s least difficult stage, on paper, was supposed to launch the Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine this Tuesday from Les Gonds, with 178 kilometres to cover towards Cognac. Yet, the riders decided to make it hard and intense. The day’s first breakaway only formed after an hour of racing, and it didn’t last long. “The whole day was hectic,” commented Frédéric Guesdon. “We expected a fast start, we knew we had to be careful, but I didn’t think it would last so long. The most serious move went before the hills, some teams didn’t agree with it, and it lit up again in the hardest part of the stage. At the end of this section, there were riders everywhere.” “The race was hard from the start, the attacks kept on coming,” confirmed Enzo Paleni. “In the hills, it was going all over the place, and we came out with about twenty riders.” After passing six climbs, and after 100 kilometres of racing, a group of seven men eventually went clear with the former rider of “La Conti”, who got the company of Théo Delacroix (St-Michel-Mavic-Auber 93), Samuel Leroux (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Lawrence Warbasse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Pro Mobility), Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies) and Francisco Munoz (Polti-Kometa).
“I’m not 100% satisfied”, Enzo Paleni
“The goal was to go for the sprint with Paul today, we knew that it was the team’s best chance of victory”, said Enzo. “I had to be careful at the start of the stage regarding the breakaways, but it wasn’t a real goal to take part in them. The race ended up happening like that, so I went for it 100%.” ”Enzo was in front, Thibaud was in the chasing group, and all the others in the peloton behind,” added Frédéric. “We were well represented, the goal was to wait and let Enzo do his own race in front. He’s doing well in the time trial, it could have been an opportunity to take a small lead in the general classification, but we had to think above all about the stage victory, because the riders with him were of his level. We also had an option with Paul in the peloton, but we played the offensive card.” Given the initial disorganization in the pack, the leading group first took a two-minute lead, but the gap dropped to one minute thirty kilometres from the line. A real fight then took place, and the breakaway was able to live up to this battle. Enzo Paleni also made a few accelerations at the front, and the group was reduced to five men. The quintet worked well together to keep one minute with ten kilometers to go, and still forty-five seconds five kilometres from the finish.
Despite a peloton coming back at full speed, and a little “looking at each other” situation in the last kilometre, the breakaway was therefore able to fight for the victory in Cognac, in a five-man sprint on a slight uphill road. “I finished fifth, but we were four on the same line”, said Enzo. “The UnoX-Mobility rider (Frederik Dversnes, editor’s note) won but he had not worked much in front because his team was pulling behind. I am not 100% satisfied because I wanted to do better at the finish, but at least I have a small advantage for the general classification and before the time trial.” The peloton eventually crossed the line twelve seconds behind the fugitives, and it was Paul Penhoët who took sixth place of the day. “We shouldn’t take it as a frustration,” said Frédéric. “It mainly shows that the boys are doing well, they were up there, and Paul won the sprint. It wasn’t for the win, of course, but the sprint might have been different if it had been. Enzo is in the mix for the general classification, Paul is doing well, and there are two stages left to try and go for the win.” An opportunity should come as for tomorrow in Niort, while Enzo Paleni is in fifth place overall on Tuesday, nine seconds behind the Norwegian leader.
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