It was not the expected rider who got involved in the bunch sprint of the Omloop van het Houtland this Wednesday for Groupama-FDJ. Due to a crash just one kilometre from the finish line, Paul Penhoët was unable to defend his chances in Lichtervelde, where Clément Russo replaced him for the occasion and took sixth place. The young sprinter should be ok to take part in Binche-Chimay-Binche next week.
No less than 195 kilometres were on the menu for the riders on the Omloop van het Houtland this Wednesday, but absolutely no climb stood in their way. “We were just worried about the rain that was forecasted, but it stopped before the start and the weather was good and didn’t affect the race,” introduced Frédéric Guesdon. “There wasn’t enough wind either. A breakaway established itself right from the start, then a few teams of sprinters controlled. There were a few attempts in the second part of the race, then the tension increased as we got closer to the finish. There were several crashes and collisions.” With nearly 115 kilometres to go, the peloton entered the finishing circuit, twelve kilometres long and to be covered nine times. The pack also perfectly managed the chase behind the breakaway, which eventually got caught just five kilometres from the finish.
“It’s annoying to be eliminated this way”, Frédéric Guesdon
This is also the moment that the Groupama-FDJ train chose to move back up. “We had to be very careful before the sprint because the road was a bit winding, and there were collisions on every lap”, explained Frédéric. “It’s always difficult to find the right timing. We couldn’t hang around too much in the back, nor come too early because then we had to keep up the pace. We had the advantage to do several laps, so it was up to the riders to judge when it was time to move up. There was an order, with Eddy first, then Olivier, Lewis, Cyril and Clément to launch Paul”. Once in the lead, the French team never moved backwards. “Everything was going well until the last kilometre, then Paul was pushed a bit by Dylan Groenewegen who took the inside coming out of a corner”, added Frédéric. “This is obviously the day’s regret. When we got to Paul, he told us: “sh*t, it was textbook lead-out until then”. Clément actually proved it because he took sixth while he was there to lead Paul out. We’re disappointed”.
Without their leader, eliminated a few hundred metres from the line, Groupama-FDJ therefore got involved in the sprint with Clément Russo, who entered the top-10 while Max Walscheid claimed victory. “It’s very frustrating for Paul because he was really in a good position, but he was unable to sprint”, added Frédéric. “It’s not his fault at all. It’s another rider who threw him down, let’s say it. It’s really annoying to be eliminated this way. The top 10 saves the day and makes sure we don’t leave completely empty-handed, but when you start with Paul, you don’t aim for that.” The young man was nevertheless able to get back up and finish the race, alongside Eddy Le Huitouze, and his end of season is not in doubt for the time being. “He knocked his knee a bit, he’s scraped, but he should be fine,” Frédéric concluded.
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