Around the climb of Montaigu, which had to be climbed five times on Thursday, Rémi Cavagna gave his all to try to avoid an uphill sprint. Despite several accelerations in the final hour of racing, also on the final lap, the French rider didn’t manage to outwit the peloton’s vigilance. He eventually crossed the finish line in 30th place, 37 seconds behind winner Sam Bennett. The closing stage on Friday will take place in Le Mans.
Starting from Tiercé, the predictions were quite open this Thursday for the third stage of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour. After 165 kilometres, the finish was located at the summit of the Butte du Montaigu (1.3 km at 6%), where a real fight was expected between the punchers and some sprinters. Included in a finishing twelve-kilometre circuit, the climb had to be covered five times in total, and the early breakaway managed to reach the summit for the first time, with fifty kilometres to go, with a lead of about two minutes. The gap was reduced by half a lap later, and Rémi Cavagna then came into action, around thirty-five kilometres from the finish. “We had planned to attack when entering the circuit, and that’s what Rémi did within a small group,” Yvon Caër explained. “Unfortunately, no one really wanted to pull with him. We felt that everyone was a little wary, and some riders were there just to defend their leader who was in the back, and therefore didn’t cooperate. What’s more, after the descent, they found themselves with a headwind, which wasn’t ideal to increase the gap. The goal was for Rémi to be one step ahead and possibly help Tom later on, but the circumstances weren’t favourable.” On the third time up the Butte du Montaigu, the leading group, including the French time trialist, was caught by the peloton, and the first serious attacks came from the favorites.
“Rémi is finding some good legs again,” Yvon Caër
Tom Donnenwirth responded perfectly to these moves, and the peloton regrouped a bit later. Quite vigilante, the French puncher was then ideally positioned by Cyril Barthe approaching the penultimate climb. “The idea was for Tom to follow the leaders’ attacks on the climb,” added Yvon. “That’s what he did. He was initially one of the only riders to catch Vauquelin’s wheel when he attacked, but when Vauquelin went for it again just before the summit, Tom exploded. He may still struggle with the repeated efforts. He may be paying a bit for his little experience as a rider, coming from a continental team. He still needs to gain strength to cope with the series of difficulties. However, we don’t have any regrets. We did everything so that he could be in a position to fight for it, he was, and the legs just didn’t respond.” Only Rémi Cavagna therefore entered a bunch of around thirty riders starting the last lap, and the “TGV de Clermont-Ferrand” went on the attack. “He tried again because there was nothing left to lose,” added Yvon. “He can also enjoy doing what he knows how to do. He had the opportunity today, he took it, and I think he’s finding some good legs again.” On Friday, the race will conclude in Le Mans, with a very dynamic course including the Gazonfier hill. “It’s a very punchy and quite technical circuit,” concluded Yvon. “We’ll do everything we can to fight for the stage win, also with Rémi and Cyril. If Tom feels good, we’ll also try to get him involved in the final.”
