Groupama-FDJ proved aggressive from start to finish on stage two of O Gran Camiño this Thursday. First of all, the youngest of the squad, Rémi Daumas, showed himself by entering the day’s breakaway, which ended with twenty kilometres to go. In the final, Rémy Rochas followed the best climbers before Maxime Decomble, another rider of “La Conti”, launched an attack five kilometres from the finish. The 19-year-old was caught at the kilometre mark, Magnus Cort won the uphill sprint, and Rémy Rochas took seventh place. Friday, a demanding fifteen-kilometre time trial awaits the riders.
In the aftermath of the longest stage of the week (190 kilometres, editor’s note), the peloton set off on the shortest one this Thursday (time trial excluded). The second stage leading towards A Estrada “only” tallied 133 kilometres, yet featured almost 2,500 metres of elevation gain, including a hilly final. Groupama-FDJ had concrete ambitions for the uphill finish, but they also stood out from the start thanks to Rémi Daumas, 18 years old, a rider of “La Conti” since this winter and promoted to the WorldTeam for his first race of the season. “We said at the briefing that we had to be attentive if the fight for the breakaway was a bit long,” explained Philippe Mauduit. “When it starts fast on a route like that, you never know how it’s going to end. Rémi followed a move, he thought that a group was going to come back from the back, unfortunately that didn’t happen, and they were just three up front all day. It was a bit hopeless, but it doesn’t matter. He continues his learning, and he had a good day at the front”. Along with the Spaniards Ander Okamika and Alvaro Sagrado, the young man therefore led the race, got up to four minutes of a gap, and was even able to start the last lap of the circuit in the front.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained”, Maxime Decomble
On the penultimate time on the line, with thirty-six kilometres to go, the gap was still one minute on the peloton, but the latter came back at full speed before the last fifteen hilly kilometres. Rémi Daumas was caught a few moments earlier. “It’s still motivating for him, and it’s always a good experience to spend a day at the front,” added Philippe. His breakaway companions surrendered shortly after, and the peloton tackled the Alto de San Vicenzo (2.5 km at 7%). “The goal was to make sure that Clément, Rémy and Maxime were in the best possible position for this final circuit,” Philippe added. “Given the pace set by Israel-Premier Tech, we knew that they would go on the attack, and the boys were ready to join in the fight. Rémy was in the best position when Derek Gee attacked, and he went for it.” The group of leaders quickly reduced to six men, but their lead at the top was only a dozen seconds. “We quickly realized that Uno-X was still organized in the back, so Rémy gave a few turns, but he didn’t push too much as he sometimes does,” Philippe said.
Around thirty men then regrouped with six kilometres to go, but a few moments later, Maxime Decomble stood on the pedals. He immediately gained a small lead that he bravely tried to maintain. “It was a daring move, and when you know Maxime’s qualities in the time trial, Uno-X did well not to take it easy behind him,” Philippe assured. “They really did everything they could to make sure that he couldn’t take ten more seconds. It was really well played by Maxime.” “It wasn’t planned,” said the young man. “I knew that if I wanted to try something, I had to do it there. I didn’t really believe I could win, because Uno-X still had some guys, but you never know. It was likely that I would be caught, but I wanted to try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’m happy that I could be aggressive, that I could have my own chance in the final and it’s nice to see that I have the level to be in front.” His great effort allowed him to keep the lead until the flamme rouge, before the Uno-X Mobility team eventually launched the race leader, Magnus Cort, towards another victory in the sprint.
“They all held their own today”, Philippe Mauduit
In this tough final Rémy Rochas also fought well to secure seventh place on the line. “We don’t differentiate between the youngest and the oldest, their objectives are not the same, but they all held their own today”, concluded Philippe. “In short, it was a pretty good day for the team”. Friday’s will be a crucial one, since the riders will have to cover fifteen kilometres against the clock, with a five-kilometre climb in the middle of the course. “Often, pure climbers are at a disadvantage in time trials”, added Philippe. “In this case, the balance is more or less restored. This gives Rémy and Clément the chance to achieve a performance that doesn’t completely take them out of the general classification. It’s also a course that will suit Maxime Decomble well. We can’t wait to see what it will bring”. The young man already has another goal in mind: “I’m sixth in the youth classification, and it could be possible to get the jersey on the time trial,” he said. Let’s see tomorrow.
