The Tour de France is over, but the cycling calendar is still going on. As of this Monday, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team indeed tackled the Tour de Wallonie. Back to racing after crashing out of the Tour of Slovenia in June, Paul Penhoët claimed a promising third place in Fleurus in the sprint that concluded the opening stage. The final will be harder on Tuesday towards Ouffet.
To open the 45th edition of the Tour de Wallonie, the peloton was expected in the Province of Hainaut this Monday, with a first stage of around 180 kilometres between Tournai and Fleurus, featuring a few small hills but also three cobbled sectors. “With many sprinters on the start list, we expected a sprint today, but it was going to be a challenging day,” introduced William Green. “The final kilometers were raced back in 2021, and fifty riders went to the line, so we were expecting something similar.” Also, behind the day’s breakaway made up of Michiel Lambrecht, Anders Skaarseth and Kenay De Moyer, Groupama-FDJ quickly took on their responsibilities. “Wind was forecasted for the first 70 kilometers,” explained William. “For us, it was just important to conserve energy throughout the stage and we made the decision to work on the front of the peloton with Thibaud for the first half of the race.” “It wasn’t easy for a return to racing, it went fast all day on typical Belgian roads,” explained Paul Penhoët. “I felt that I still lacked a bit of race rhythm personally, but the form will only increase from now on.”
“It’s quite positive for a return to competition”, Paul Penhoët
The breakaway never threatened the bunch, and everything actually came back together with fifty kilometres to go. “Cyril did some great work in the second part of the race, and we had a good position entering the cobbled sectors,” testified William. “We were then represented in all the key moves.” However, no decision was made on the cobbles, and the bunch was still very big and nervous as it tackled the last hill with ten kilometres to go. “The plan was to stay around Paul, and we had full confidence in him,” added William. “We saw that in 2021 groups coming back, we expected the same again, which is exactly what happened.” The bunch, however, lost some riders, and only sixty men or so headed towards the finish in Fleurus. “We had Lewis, Sam, Rudy and Paul present in the front,” said William. “They did some really, really good work in the final. There was a bit of a disappointment for the race to be taken the wrong side at the corner with 1.3 km to go, while we had a very good position. But again, we came back to the front and had Paul in a perfect position.” “It was a bit of a mess, we had to get going again, but we were already in the front, so it didn’t bother us that much compared to some others,” said Paul. “In the sprint, I managed to get back to the wheels of Lewis and Sam who did a super job.”
In the last 500 metres, the young Frenchman took advantage of his two English teammates’ lead-out. However, Jordi Meeus, to his left, was more powerful, while Madis Mikhels beat him for second place. For his return to racing, Paul Penhoët still secured a podium spot and four bonus seconds. “The winner was very strong today, so I don’t really have any regrets,” he said. “It’s quite positive for a return to competition after the hand fracture, and we will try again in the coming days.” “Paul may have hesitated a bit in the sprint, but this is his first race back after crashing in Slovenia,” recalled William. “There’s not much disappointment. He put trust in the team, the team did a good support for him in the final, he’s just missing that something extra. We keep going, it was still a good day.” On Tuesday, the peloton should be even smaller at Ouffet. “It will be interesting tomorrow,” predicted William. “There is a short steep climb towards the finish, then a descent straight into a 2-kilometre climb towards the finish, but not very steep. We may see a group of 20 or 30 riders.”
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