For his first battle with the world’s best sprinters this Wednesday in Bilzen, in the opening stage of the Renewi Tour, Paul Penhoët claimed a very solid fifth place. At the end of a slightly uphill final, the Frenchman also obtained his first top-10 in the WorldTour this season, on his first day of racing at this level. Thursday, a crucial time trial regarding the general classification will be on the menu.
One hundred and sixty-three kilometres were planned this Wednesday, not far away from Maastricht, in the first stage of the Renewi Tour. Made for the sprinters despite a challenging course at times, the day followed the usual scenario. “A five-man breakaway went almost from the start and the peloton kept it at two minutes throughout the day,” summed up Frédéric Guesdon. “The race wasn’t very lively, but the pace was still quite high all day long. Therefore, it was tiring and that’s why some riders got dropped from behind in the final.” After a well-controlled chase, the peloton caught the break about fifteen kilometres from the finish, while the tension was growing. One of the favorites of the day, Olav Kooij, was even put out of contention due to a crash. “It was a bit of a mess because the race was quite easy until the last sixty kilometres, then it got really nervous and it was really hard to find each other,” said Paul. “In the final, the goal was to set up the train to position Paul as best as possible,” explained Frédéric. “There was already a key moment at fifteen kilometers where we had to move up a bit, then there was a succession of turns in the last three kilometres that we had to tackle in the first 20-30 positions.”
“It proves that it’s getting better and better,” Paul Penhoët
The nervousness increased even more in the last ten kilometres given the extremely high level of the field in this race. “There are twenty-three teams and almost as many world-class sprinters,” added Frédéric. “We knew it would be difficult. So the goal was more to put Paul in the right wheels and lead him as far as possible than to launch the sprint ourselves. The guys did a really good job from this point of view. Paul had new teammates for the train, in the likes of Fabian. We also had to adjust because Marc, who was supposed to be his last man, was not feeling very well and was not there for the final. Olivier and Fabian did the job for Paul, and they did it very well thanks to their experience.” “I got Fabian and Oliv’ with myself fifteen kilometres from the finish, and that was enough,” added Paul. “Oliv’ did a great job to keep us in front until five kilometres, then Fabi moved well so that we weren’t overtaken. I had a good position two kilometres from the finish, at the right turn. Then, it was up to me to follow the right wheels and position myself as well as possible. I managed it pretty well until the flamme rouge, at the left turn.”
Around fifteenth position after the final hairpin, then around tenth place when the sprint started, Paul Penhoët managed to overtake a few more riders in the last 150 metres to take sixth place, which became fifth after Tim Merlier was disqualified. “Paul was in a good position when the bunch started to stretch out and he was able to keep his place up there, which shows that he had good legs,” said Frédéric. “I’m just a little disappointed because I was a bit on the right from one kilometre to 500 metres, and the wind was coming from the right,” added Paul. “I was kind of protecting the guys who were on the left while I was in the wind, but given that it was quite hard, the peloton was also stretched out. I was able to get back on Groenewegen’s wheel pretty quickly and then the sprint started very early. We were quite far from the first guys at that point, and on this kind of finish, you really have to be in front if you want to fight for a better result. It’s still a good day, because the legs are good, it was a tough finish, and it shows that it’s getting better and better. We always want to do better, I could have done better today, but it’s always good to see that we can fight at this level. This is the first time I have competed in a sprint with so many top guys. I am also looking forward to seeing what it can be like on Friday and Saturday in flat sprints.”
Before that, the riders will take part in a 15-kilometre time trial on Thursday, which should partly determine the general classification.
No comment