It will be, no matter what, a successful first participation in the Tour of Romania for “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ. After two top-10 in the first two stages, the team based in Besançon pulled it off on Friday on stage 3, thanks to a dominant sprint by Lewis Bower. The New Zealander took his second victory of the season, also bringing the team its eighth in 2024. Two days of racing are left to go, and just as many opportunities.
The Tour of Romanian started on Wednesday with what seemed a harmless first stage, featuring only two climbs separated by a hundred kilometers from each other. However, this opening day of racing did have a huge impact on the general classification. “We tackled a kilometre-long climb averaging 13% after ten kilometres, then we took small roads, and that proved decisive for the rest of the race,” said Jérôme Gannat. “Twenty-five riders went away at that point and all the big teams were represented, including Astana with five riders. Unfortunately, we only had one rider with Lewis, and we were a bit disappointed because we would have needed a climber, especially Maxime [Decomble], to be in front regarding the overall. The gap quickly increased, and the peloton eased off as fast, ultimately losing twenty minutes, which you don’t see very often. This scenario was kind of predictable with the difficulty at the start, and Maxime perhaps lacked a little concentration.” The overall was over from then on for “La Conti”, yet Lewis Bower had the opportunity to fight for the stage victory. Facing teams with numbers, the 19-year-old Kiwi however had to settle for ninth place, while Lukas Kubis won after breaking away with two men. “Lewis was a bit tired, he started cramping and couldn’t sprint properly,” added Jérôme.
“Maxime had the final top-5 in his legs,” Jérôme Gannat
On Thursday, summit finish was on the riders’ menu. “It’s a fairly classic finish, with a long fifteen-kilometre climb, ten kilometres of which averaging 8%,” explained Jérôme. The day’s breakaway didn’t fight for the stage, and it all came down to the last ascent. “Astana accelerated at the bottom, and the peloton immediately exploded,” added Jérôme. “As soon as we reached the hardest part, the first two went away, then we found a group of six riders chasing with Maxime and the race’ leader. A third Astana rider beat them towards the top, but Maxime took fifth place, confirming that he could have been a good card for the general classification and that he had the final top-5 in his legs. I even think that he could have done a little better with a little more confidence, but he is only 19 years old”. Kazakh Rudolf Remkhi took it all, and the Astana Qazaqstan Development team climbed to the first three places on GC. Jérôme Gannat then thought that something was possible on Friday on stage 3, with 200 kilometres without real difficulty. “We placed Titouan Fontaine in the breakaway because we thought it had a chance of making it,” he explained. “We really believed in it after 100 kilometres because Astana stopped pulling and the gap went up to six minutes. But some teams were interested in a sprint and the breakaway was eventually caught twenty kilometres from the finish”.
“It means a lot to finish it off for them“, Lewis Bower
A bunch sprint was then looming and “La Conti” was prepared for it. “We had analysed the final well, with a series of corners in the last kilometre and then a long straight,” explained Jérôme. “Jens [Verbrugghe] did a very good job in the last three kilometres to position Lewis in the technical section. Maxime also worked, and even Titouan gave a turn. These are important signs, and it gives the sprinter confidence”. “It was a perfect day,” added Lewis. “With Titouan in the breakaway, we could just sit in the wheels, then in the last twenty kilometres, we executed it perfectly. We were in a perfect position all the way until the last kilometre, where I found myself on my own. At 500 metres, we came around the last corner and the front five guys went too quick and had to put the brakes on. Fortunately, I could take the inside, I came with speed, so I went earlier than expected. Thankfully, I got the jump on them, and I managed to hold it until the finish line”. “He took advantage of the slipstream and the speed to go from afar”, confirmed Jérôme. “There were still more than 300 metres left with a small headwind, but he made such a gap from the start that he was able to keep a certain lead. It really was a good move.”
The New Zealander then secured his second victory of the season after the first stage of the Ronde de l’Oise. “He often has a role of lead-out man for Noah, which he does very well”, added Jérôme. “He knew he would have opportunities coming here, and he managed to seize them. I think it gives him a lot of confidence for the end of the season.” “It’s good to get a win again,” said Lewis. “I’m happy I got my own opportunity with the team and I’m really happy that the boys were believing in me today. It means a lot to finish it off for them and make all the good work have a reward at the end.” “We came for a top-10 overall and a stage win,” concluded Jérôme. “We had to give up the overall, but there are two stages left, and two sprint opportunities for Lewis. If we can bring back two more wins, that would be nice”.
