For the second time this week, but in a very different way, Paul Penhoët took a top-5 on the Renewi Tour this Saturday. The sprinter from Groupama-FDJ claimed fourth place on the fourth stage, after he perfectly managed to find his way through in the final kilometers. This is his eleventh top-5 since his return to racing in early May. The Renewi Tour will be decided tomorrow in a final stage including several ascents of the “Muur”.
On paper, the fourth and penultimate stage of the Renewi Tour, on Saturday, between Oostburg in the Netherlands and Aalter in Belgium, did not feature any major difficulty. On the road, however, the situation turned out to be very different. “We started with a thirteen-kilometre circuit to do three times, and it was very windy,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “In addition to that, there was a very technical part in a village, which created some echelons at every lap. The last time we passed there, the peloton split apart, also because there was a crash which Fabian was involved in. From then on, there were seven leading riders, then a group of twenty-five, and we had no one in front. So we chased with other teams and had to close a minute. There were 120 kilometres left, but it was quite stressful. We hoped that it would calm down a bit up front so that we could come back, especially since we also came for the overall with Val. It would have been a shame to lose everything today. Eventually, ten kilometres before we reached the finish line for the first time, everything came together.” At the halfway point, another race started, and six new riders took off. The peloton, led by the sprinters’ teams, was however careful not to take any risks.
“We were there, in the second row”, Frédéric Guesdon
“For us, the goal was to recover from our efforts and stay focused in the first part of the peloton, then it was all for Paul in the sprint”, added Frédéric Guesdon. “We put in place what we have been doing since the beginning with the rouleurs first, then Olivier and Fabian to position Paul, but without Marc who was forced to abandon”. “The last lap was 47 kilometres long and I stayed in Fabian’s wheel for 47 kilometres”, smiled Paul. “It was great, I just had to worry about keeping his wheel. He did a great job so that we were always in position”. The last man standing from the breakaway was caught eight kilometres from the finish, while the fight for position was already well underway as the bunch approached a narrower section of the route. “We weren’t extremely well positioned but we were there, in the second row, and the sprinters’ teams that were in front stayed there and kind of blocked the road,” Frédéric reported. “When the road widened two kilometres to go, some guys tried to come back, it was quite tense and that caused a big crash shortly after the flamme rouge. We managed to get through it, and that allowed Paul to stay positioned and tackle the last corner in around fifteenth place.”
“It gives me confidence for the future,” Paul Penhoët
Although he was a bit far behind Jasper Philipsen and Christophe Laporte, the young man from Groupama-FDJ was nevertheless able to overtake several competitors thanks to a good acceleration, then took advantage of his momentum to pursue his comeback. “We were a little far at the last turn, but I knew there were 450 metres left to the line, so I did a long sprint,” Paul said. “Because I launched early, that brought me back up with 200 metres to go, and I managed to make another effort for the final jump. When you can do a double sprint, it means that the legs are good. I’m really happy with this fourth place. I believed I had this level, but I still had to show it. It was my first WorldTour stage race this year and the first time I sprinted against such a big field. It gives me confidence for the future, and that makes me believe that victory in the WorldTour or in a Grand Tour is really possible.” “Out of the three sprints this week, he was twice in the top-5,” Frédéric underlined. “That’s very good, especially since there was a great field at the start. It’s promising for the future, it confirms his qualities and that he’s on the right track.”
On Sunday, the Renewi Tour will come to an end with a “Flemish” stage including three and a half ascents of the “Muur”. “It’s a nice circuit,” concluded Frédéric Guesdon. “I think the race will start early because a lot of favourites, including Val, need to make up time.”
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