This Sunday, on the dirty roads of Brittany, Sam Watson had the legs to fight for the win on the Tro Bro Leon. However, luck wasn’t on his side. On the “Hell of the West”, the British rider saw his hopes vanish following a puncture just eight kilometers from the finish while he was leading the front group. He was therefore unable to take part in the final battle and reached the finish line in eighteenth position.
In the 10th round of the FDJ French Cup, the peloton was expected in one of the most unique and most anticipated races on the calendar. Halfway between Paris-Roubaix and the Strade Bianche, the Tro Bro Leon featured no less than 27 gravel sectors, called “ribinoù”, whose length tallied 27 kilometres out of the two hundred making up the race’s route. Twenty-one of the twenty-seven sectors were also located in the last seventy kilometres, which made for a very dense final. Before that, seven riders took part in the day’s breakaway, which enjoyed a five-minute gap at best. “The goal was not to be trapped in the first 130 kilometres,” said Thierry Bricaud. “Most importantly, we had to save as much energy as possible, then we knew that the real race was going to start 70-80 kilometres from the finish, and that things were going to settle. That’s what happened”. Groupama-FDJ itself took the initiative and created some splits in the peloton through the first important sectors. “We had to be positioned because there were several sectors one after the other, we knew the selection was going to start from the back, so we’d rather be in front,” added Thierry. “We dealt with this sequence very well and we still had five riders in a group of thirty.”
“We know that Sam is not where he belongs”, Thierry Bricaud
In the lead, Samuel Watson was perfectly surrounded by Sven-Erik Bystrom, Ben Askey, Eddy Le Huitouze and Brieuc Rolland. “To be honest, we rode a pretty amazing race,” said the young Briton. “The guys did an extremely good job of supporting me. I never touched the wind or had to fight for anything myself. I was protected all the way to the crucial moments. I also have to say that Sven rode many kilometers in the lead, and he reduced the peloton to only thirty guys. It was pretty incredible”. Yet, as there wasn’t too much help from the other teams in the front group, a second peloton managed to bridge across with 50 kilometers to go. Ten kilometres later, the race opened up again, Sam Watson managed to follow the right moves and then was never left behind. “There were around twenty riders up front, he was all alone, but we knew that it was going to come down to the penultimate sector,” added Thierry. A larger peloton reformed for the last loop around Lannilis, and eight kilometers from the finish, the riders approached the Keradraon sector at full speed. Sam Watson moved back up in order to take part in the final battle.
However, chance decided otherwise. “I was on the front, ready to attack because it was the most important part of the race, and I punctured my rear wheel,” he explained later. “At that moment, I knew that my race was over…” In this penultimate sector, three riders broke away, then were joined by six others, and Arnaud De Lie eventually claimed victory. “Sam was going very well but he had a puncture at the most decisive moment,” said Thierry. “Without this incident, he was up front. The result doesn’t mean anything because we know that he’s not where he belongs. When you see the legs he had all day, it’s obvious that he would have been in the mix, but that’s how it is, it’s part of the game.” The Briton therefore had to settle for eighteenth place in the first chasing group, fifty seconds later. “I had extremely good legs so it’s pretty hard to take, but it’s positive for the future I guess,” he concluded. Brieuc Rolland took 35th place of the day, in the same group as his teammate.
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