Since Tuesday, “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ has been taking part in the most prestigious race of its 2024 calendar. On the Tour of Britain, Jérôme Gannat’s men are indeed facing four WorldTour teams, and after a difficult first part of the event, Noah Hobbs scored a nice fourth place on Friday in the bunch sprint that concluded stage 4. Two other opportunities should come this weekend.
On the first three stages of the Tour of Britain, including some climbing, “La Conti” expected to suffer against the major teams of the field. This is indeed what happened, although Lewis Bower managed to grab sixteenth place in a slightly reduced sprint in Kelso on the first day. “There was a selection of 40-50 riders, we didn’t have the physical strength to be up there, but Lewis and Joshua were able to get back to the peloton twelve kilometres from the finish,” commented Jérôme. “However, with tired legs, he was unable to deliver his best sprint, even if sixteenth is still a decent performance. The next day was the queen stage for the overall on a very hard circuit along the coast. We didn’t have an impact on the race. There’s not much to be said. It came down to the legs, and we knew it would be hard given the profile.” On Thursday, Maxime Decomble was able to hang on for 36th place, but two minutes behind the winner and leader Stephen Williams.
“It was all about positioning,” Noah Hobbs
Another race started on Friday for the French squad. “We knew that the last three suited us with possible sprints,” added Jérôme. “We got back into a traditional stage race scenario with a breakaway of three riders. The pace was still quite strong in the back because of the wind, but the course didn’t really allow for any echelons.” “It was pretty controlled pretty early, and it was calm for a bit,” said Noah Hobbs. “I had the team around me all day, then once we caught the breakaway guys, it started to be very hectic. It was all about positioning.” In Newark-on-Trent, after 138 kilometres, the bunch sprint then set up as anticipated. “It was a tricky finish within the city, with a lot of road furniture,” specified Jérôme. “It was difficult for Noah to position, but he benefited from Lewis’ support in the last kilometres. There were two corners in the last two kilometres and then a long 800-meter straight. Positioning was important at that point.”
“Noah played his cards well,” Jérôme Gannat
Everyone was aware of this, and theory was soon put into practice. “The team helped me to get in a good position, and in the last couple bends, I managed to work my way up to a good spot in the line”, Noah said. “After the final corner, I was in sixth position.” The peloton then remained very stretched out due to a narrow final straight, then the sprint opened. “It was so fast, I used quite a lot of energy just to stay near the front,” Noah explained. “I managed to stay in the wheels and hold on to fourth.” Ahead of him, Paul Magnier claimed victory ahead of Ethan Vernon. “Noah more or less stayed in his position in the sprint,” Jérôme said. “He was able to get back a little bit but not enough to hope for better. That said, it’s already a very good result at this level. In a final like this, against very strong teams, it’s difficult to position yourself, but he played his cards well from this point of view.” “It’s not the closest from where I live, but it’s still special to get a good result in the Tour of Britain,” said Noah.
Two other flat stages are coming up this weekend on the other side of the Channel. “These will be two different sprints,” Jérôme concluded. “We don’t necessarily have the strength to lead out, so we’d also like to put a rider in the breakaway, then be up there in the final. Then, sometimes sprints go well, sometimes they don’t. But if everything comes together, I think Noah can fight for the win. We want to be ambitious.”
No comment