Right up there in the final of La Roue Tourangelle this Sunday, Groupama-FDJ yet didn’t get rewarded with a convincing result in Tours. While local rider Thibaud Gruel launched two strong attacks in the final fifteen kilometres, he was unable to prevent a sprint from happening after 197 kilometres of racing. The sprint proved chaotic, and the penultimate corner notably ruined Matthew Walls’ hopes. Eddy Le Huitouze managed to stay in the first part of the peloton and secured tenth place.
The fourth round of the FDJ French Cup, La Roue Tourangelle, was set to host another battle between punchers and sprinters this Sunday in Tours. First, however, three men took the lead early in the race with the breakaway. Quite in control, the peloton then cruised at around four minutes for much of the day. In the final hour of racing, the growing tension gradually made the gap smaller, without any real move taking place. “A lot of teams tried to block the race so that it would finish in a sprint,” explained Thierry Bricaud. “It was quite fast all day, but there wasn’t much action. We were hoping there would be a bit more of it in the last forty kilometres, to then make the race hard and be active with Thibaud. That’s what we did, but there were still a lot of riders in contention, and things never settled as we would have liked.”
“We have the potential to do much better”, Thierry Bricaud
Yet, the young French puncher did meet the expectations. He was part of a first move on the Côte de Bois Renault, fifteen kilometres from the finish. The peloton closed the gap after a few minutes of chasing, but the local rider went for it again on the Côte de l’Opale with five kilometres to go, taking four riders with him after a very strong attack. A small gap was made on the pack, but it wasn’t enough to stay away as multiple teams led the chase in the back. With just over two kilometres to go, Thibaud Gruel’s attack was neutralized. “He surely was strong,” Thierry Brieuc said. “Apart from the fact that he was motivated because he was on his training routes, it is a confirmation of his start to the season. We can see that he’s really starting to be at ease in these French Cup races. He should be able to win one fairly quickly because these races suit him.”
With the breakaway caught, a sprint was looming. “We initially played the Thibaud card, but we knew it could come down to a sprint, and in that scenario, we had the Matthew Walls card,” explained Thierry. “Until the penultimate corner, it all went very well, then there was a hard fight for positioning, and the peloton came out a bit scattered from this corner. Eddy followed the first part, while Lewis Bower and Matthew were caught behind small splits. The intention was good, the motivation was there, the timing may not have been perfect, but it was a pretty messy sprint.” Eddy Le Huitouze then fought to take tenth place, while Lewis Bower (14th) and Matthew Walls (19th) finished a few seconds later. “We’re frustrated with the final, but it’s a bit like our last races,” concluded Thierry. “We’re there, but there’s just one little thing missing for things to turn out the right way. We have the potential to do much better. That said, we can’t complain about the attitude and commitment. The guys did what they had to do, especially for such a young squad.”
