National Championships 2016 – France – [Road Race – FULL RACE]

June 26, 2016

National Championships 2016 – France – Vesoul – Vesoul – 248,9 km

The French National Road Race Championship is a cycling race where the French cyclists decide who will become the champion for the year to come. The event was established in 1899, a professional championship was established in 1907 and the women’s championship was established in 1951. Several additional categories were added later. The record for victories is by one of the best female cyclists, Jeannie Longo, who has so far managed to win 20 road championships.

The winners of each event are awarded with a symbolic cycling jersey which is blue, white and red, just like the national flag, these colours can be worn by the rider at other road racing events in the country to show their status as national champion. The champion’s stripes can be combined into a sponsored rider’s team kit design for this purpose.

Arthur Vichot delivered FDJ’s fourth French national road race title in five years, and the second to his personal account after he pulled on the blue-white-red jersey three years ago between the reigns of Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Démare. On Sunday he succeeded Steven Tronet – who created an enormous surprise for Auber 93 last year – as he outsprinted breakaway companions Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) and Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R-La Mondiale).

“[team manager] Marc Madiot told us at the pre race briefing that our favourite jersey had been borrowed for one year but we had to bring it back home”, Vichot said minutes after the finish in Vesoul.

“In the finale I played with the fact that I already won that race before at the difference of my two rivals. I didn’t look at them. I looked at the finishing line. It’s indescribable emotion after all the hiccups I faced since I last won the French championship.”

FDJ outnumbered the other teams in the 34 men leading group that took shape after the first lap with another 220km to go. Nine of them, Olivier Le Gac, Arnaud Démare, Benoît Vaugrenard, Sébastien Chavanel, Lorrenzo Manzin, Kevin Reza, Matthieu Ladagnous, Jérémy Roy and Cédric Pineau were accompanied by Jérémy Cornu, Tony Hurel, Thomas Voeckler, Bryan Nauleau, Lilian Calmejane, Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie), Jean-Marc Bideau, Arnaud Gérard, Cédric Delaplace, Julien Loubet, Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortunéo-Vital Concept), Florian Sénéchal, Anthony Perez, Christophe Laporte, Clément Venturini, Cyril Lemoine, Jérôme Cousin (Cofidis), Leonardo Duque, Christophe Laborie (Delko-Marseille Provence), Alexis Gougeard, Hubert Dupont, Sébatien Minard, Pierre Latour, Jean-Christophe Peraud and Axel Domont (AG2R-La Mondiale).

All major teams were represented but not the continental squads who rode behind. Ladagnous, Périchon, Gougeard, Nauleau and Laporte forged on but most of the favourites came across. Vuillermoz, Gallopin and Vichot countered Julian Alaphilippe to ride away with 7km to go while Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet were marking each other. Alaphilippe didn’t manage to bridge the gap to the three escapees with Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Périchon on his wheel.

“For me it would have been the dream of my career to sprint for the win at a French championship”, said Dumoulin who was probably the fastest. “But all year long I campaign for team spirit so I wasn’t going to chase my team-mate and I couldn’t take the risk of bringing Alaphilippe to the line. I wasn’t 100% sure of beating him.”

“In an uphill sprint I could have challenged Vichot and Gallopin but a descending false flat like this wasn’t in my favor”, echoed Vuillermoz, “so I tried to take them by surprise at 300 metres but Tony saw me, Arthur also. I’m very disappointed to miss out on the title but after my crash at the Dauphiné I’m reassured about my condition ahead of the Tour de France.”

Probably the most disappointed of them all was Gallopin who was already second last year and third three years ago behind Vichot and Sylvain Chavanel. “I don’t think I’ve made any mistake”, said the Lotto-Soudal rider, who was once again isolated against well organized teams. “I’ve had a lot of disappointments in my career but this one tops the lot.”

“It had to be a tactical win especially against Alaphilippe who is impossible to follow on a short uphill, he’s really a Valverde type of rider”, commented Vichot who bounced back after a broken collarbone, a virus and a few tendonitis who hampered his career in the past two years.

“It might be egocentric to say that but after all the troubles I’ve experienced, I’m the rider who deserves this title the most. When I made the final top three at Paris-Nice with a stage win on the last day with my French champion jersey in 2014, I had reached a good level in the WorldTour but everything has gone wrong since. When I started this season, I said the most beautiful moment would be a win here at the French championship, it’s magic!”

Vichot hails from the Franche-Comté region where the race was held. So does Pinot who won the time trial on Thursday. “We couldn’t ask for more than these two titles this week on home soil”, Pinot declared. “We’ve got one jersey each. Everything is in place for the Tour.”

Results :
1 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ 6:13:38
2 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
3 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
4 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:12
5 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
6 Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
7 Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:38
8 Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Roubaix Metropole Europeenne De Lille
9 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
10 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
11 Romain Sicard (Fra) Direct Energie
12 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ
13 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ
14 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:01:23
15 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
16 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
17 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
18 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
19 Julien Loubet (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
20 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
21 Kévin Reza (Fra) FDJ
22 Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
23 Flavien Dassonville (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
24 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
25 Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
26 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
27 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
28 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie
29 Yoann Barbas (Fra) Armee de Terre
30 Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
31 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
32 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
33 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
34 Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
35 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
36 Francis Mourey (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
37 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
38 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
39 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:01:45
40 Jerome Cousin (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:01:48
41 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Direct Energie 0:01:50
42 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:56
43 Jerome Coppel (Fra) IAM Cycling
44 Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Roubaix Metropole Europeenne De Lille 0:02:47
45 Pierre Moncorge (Fra) Bliz – Merida Pro Cycling
46 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
47 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ
48 Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
49 Jerome Mainard (Fra) Armee de Terre
50 Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ
51 Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
52 Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Team Raleigh Gac
53 Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
54 Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
55 Brian Nauleau (Fra) Direct Energie
56 Rayane Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:03:59
57 Frédéric Brun (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
58 Damien Gaudin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:05:29
59 Steven Tronet (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
60 Yann Guyot (Fra) Armee de Terre 0:05:36
61 Clement Chevrier (Fra) IAM Cycling
62 Damien Garcia (Fra) Stradalli – Bike Aid 0:06:24
63 Biel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:37
64 Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie
65 Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
66 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
67 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ
68 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie
69 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
70 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Direct Energie 0:07:48
71 Jimmy Raibaud (Fra) Armee de Terre 0:09:33
72 Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Direct Energie
73 Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Armee de Terre
74 Florent Pereira (Fra) Roubaix Metropole Europeenne De Lille 0:11:28
75 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Jean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Maxime Cam (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
DNF Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) FDJ
DNF Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ
DNF Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
DNF Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
DNF Marc Fournier (Fra) FDJ
DNF Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
DNF Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ
DNF Jérémy Maison (Fra) FDJ
DNF Lorenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ
DNF Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ
DNF Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ
DNF Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Maxime Daniel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Romain Cardis (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Jeremy Cornu (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Tony Hurel (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Julien Morice (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Loïc Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Clément Venturini (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Bryan Alaphilippe (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Bruno Armirail (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Julien Duval (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Thibault Ferasse (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Romain Le Roux (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Jordan Levasseur (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Clément Penven (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Thomas Rostollan (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Benoît Sinner (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF Yannis Yssaad (Fra) Armee de Terre
DNF César Bihel (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
DNF Romain Feillu (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
DNF Pierre Gouault (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
DNF Julien Guay (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
DNF Anthony Maldonado (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
DNF David Menut (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
DNF Théo Vimpere (Fra) HP-BTP Auber 93
DNF Julien El Fares (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
DNF Benjamin Giraud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
DNF Christophe Laborie (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
DNF Yannick Martinez (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
DNF Leonardo Fabio Duque (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
DNF Rudy Barbier (Fra) Roubaix Metropole Europeenne De Lille
DNF Jeremy Leveau (Fra) Roubaix Metropole Europeenne De Lille
DNF Felix Pouilly (Fra) Roubaix Metropole Europeenne De Lille
DNF Nicolas Moncomble (Fra) Roubaix Metropole Europeenne De Lille
DNF Morgan Kneisky (Fra) Team Raleigh Gac
DNF Nicolas Baldo (Fra) Team Roth
DNF Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Klein Constantia
DNF Matthieu Jeannes (Fra) Lupus Racing Team
DNF Guillaume De Almeida (Fra) Radio Popular – Boavista
DNF Alliaume Leblond (Fra) Team Differdange – Losch
DNF Clément Koretzky (Fra) Team Vorarlberg
DNF Justin Jules (Fra) Veranclassic-Ago