For the fifth time in six days, the winner was decided in a bunch sprint this Sunday, on the sixth and final stage of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque. Sam Bennett claimed another victory while Paul Penhoët took fifth place, which meant his fourth top-10 this week. The 22-year-old also confirmed his second place overall and is already looking forward to the Boucles de la Mayenne next week.
Six days after leaving Dunkirk, the peloton was about to return to the French city on Sunday, with a sixth stage made for the sprinters. Although the start of the race turned out to be quite fast, the classic scenario then took place before coming on the final circuit. “A small breakaway established itself, it was well controlled right away, so there was no particular danger,” summarized Thierry Bricaud. Ayco Bastiaens (Soudal Quick-Step), Robert Donaldson (Trinity), Ludovic Robeet (Cofidis) and Kenny Molly (Van Rysel – Roubaix Lille Métropole) therefore led the race for some time, but their adventure ended twelve kilometres from the finish line, shortly before entering the last lap in Dunkirk. Tension obviously increased in the peloton in anticipation of a new bunch sprint. “We had set up a plan,” said Thierry. “We wanted to move back along the sea about five-six kilometers from the finish, in order to be up there in the final, and that’s what we did. However, it was the last stage, everyone wanted to get a result, and on such a fast circuit, it was a bit difficult to organize. It was quite hectic.”
“Great signs for the future”, Thierry Bricaud
After the flamme rouge, Marc Sarreau and Paul Penhoët still managed to get back into the top ten positions, but the two men then lost each other a bit. “Marc launched the sprint, but Paul got boxed in a bit beforehand, and he couldn’t make up the gap he had when the sprint started,” explained Thierry. “We’re a bit disappointed because we know that we could have done better, but that’s how sprints work. Yet, there is nothing to blame them.” “Marc was perfectly positioned in the last two corners,” explained Paul. “Unfortunately, Ackermann got in his wheel. I thought that it wasn’t so bad because it was still quite far from the finish, then Bennett passed me around the outside, but I still thought that I was in the right wheel. Then, I had to fight with another rider to stay there, and a guy from Decathlon-AG2R took advantage of it to get back into Bennett’s wheel. So when Bennett went, his teammate braked, and I lost all my speed. Once again, the outcome of the sprint didn’t go my way. It was very messy every day, with a tense fight for positions.” At the finish, the Frenchman had to settle for fifth place while Sam Bennett took his fourth win of the week, also securing the overall victory.
In the final ranking, Paul Penhoët also secured second place. “Everyone did their job well all week, even today,” concluded Thierry. “We would have liked to win, but we came up against a strong Bennett. That said, we were up there every day, and we finished second overall, which is still not bad. This confirms Paul’s return, which is more than positive and promising for the future. We also saw that the team was getting stronger as the days went by. These are great signs for the future.” “I said I was aiming for a stage victory, we came close, but that’s not what we came for,” Paul pointed out. “At least, I could see that the physical condition was there, especially in Cassel. We worked really well with the team, and it will be pretty much the same on the Boucles de la Mayenne. We really want to do well, and we hope to finish it off there.”
