Paul Penhoët came close to winning this Friday in Poitiers, in the closing stage of the Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine. However, at the end of this fourth day of racing, and after remarkable work from his teammates, the young French sprinter had to settle for second place in the sprint behind Arnaud Démare, thus scoring his seventh podium of the season. Enzo Paleni (7th) and Eddy Le Huitouze (9th) secured their top-10 overall.
As usual for its last day of racing, the Tour Poitou-Charentes in Nouvelle Aquitaine headed to Poitiers on Friday, in a fourth stage of 175 kilometres which suited the sprinters. Yet, a five-man breakaway including Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), David Martin (Polti Kometa), Baptiste Gillet (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Dries De Bondt (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) and Axel Narbonne Zuccarelli (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur) still tried to catch the peloton by surprise. “It was a strong breakaway, which took a 3’30 lead, and Uno-X tried to gamble as much as possible in the back to force the sprinters’ teams to chase,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “There was a moment of doubt, but things quickly got back to normal once we got a 3/4 tailwind on small roads. That made the peloton nervous, and it quickly came back on the leading group. We were just about to put one guy to chase, but we didn’t need to do it in the end.” On the Poitiers’ finishing circuit, the gap quickly dropped, the fugitives were caught one after the other, and only De Bondt was left in the lead at the start of the last fourteen-kilometre lap.
“We managed to execute what we said in the briefing”, Paul Penhoët
“The whole team was really motivated because we saw on the first stage that we were the best team to lead a clean sprint”, indicated Paul Penhoët. “We were all the more motivated since we had messed up a bit on the second day. We all wanted to do well, and in the end, that’s what we did. All the guys did a great job throughout the stage. There was a lot of wind, but we were always well positioned, I didn’t need to do any unnecessary effort. It was really great.” “The whole team was at Paul’s service, and we said that on this type of circuit, we had to ride as a team as much as possible, and that the collective strength would make the difference”, added Frédéric. “The goal was to be all together around Paul. When you’re together, you also manage to impose yourself more easily in the first positions of the peloton. That’s what they did all day and right up until the last lap.” On this last lap, precisely, the last breakaway rider surrendered while the peloton was reduced to around sixty units to head towards the sprint. All the Groupama-FDJ riders were there.
“We were still in a great position at the top of the hill on the last lap, then in the last four kilometres, with the headwind, we all got back together, we all found each other and we managed to execute what we said in the briefing, which was to lead out a clean sprint with the whole team,” Paul said. “It was nice to see.” “Everything went as we had imagined,” added Frédéric. “The rouleurs rode until the last kilometre, then Matt opened the sprint to launch Cyril, Marc and then Paul. They really did what they had decided to do.” The train took the lead, Paul Penhoët made his effort as he wished too, but at the end of the final straight, one man proved to be faster: Arnaud Démare. “I really wanted to do the best possible sprint to give the guys a reward,” said Paul. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. I wanted to start the sprint first because it was a difficult finish, but I ended up launching from a little over 200 metres. It was maybe a little far with the headwind, but that’s what I wanted to do, so I don’t necessarily have proper regrets. Arnaud is still a great sprinter. When he’s in your wheel and you go a little too early, it’s hard to beat him.” “We know that when there’s no big fight for position, Arnaud is among the best,” Frédéric added. “But the boys can be proud of their work. They’re the ones who stretched out the peloton and allowed for a clean sprint to happen.”
“They’re really motivated to get back together and go for a victory”, Frédéric Guesdon
It is therefore with a stage podium and two riders in the top 10 overall that Groupama-FDJ completed their week of racing. “We are obviously missing the victory, because we are chasing that”, concluded Frédéric. “That being said, it was a group of youngsters, and it is good that guys like Enzo or Eddy, who are domestiques all year, can go and get results. It’s “only” seventh and ninth in the Tour Poitou-Charentes, but they come out of here in good spirits and should still go up a level for the end of the season. Paul’s second place is also positive for the future, given the year he had. This group raced really well as a team, and I felt this evening, when they left each other, that they’re really motivated to get back together, perform, and go for a victory in the next races.” “The results are mixed because I would have liked to win to reward the boys, but I’ll really keep in mind the teamwork and I thank everyone for this week,” concluded Paul, whose next event will be the BEMER Cyclassics.
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