Description
June 23, 2024
Championships 2024 โ France ๐ซ๐ท โ Road Race ME – Avranches – Saint-Martin-de-Landelles : 240,6 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.
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June 23, 2024
Championships 2024 โ France ๐ซ๐ท โ Road Race ME – Avranches – Saint-Martin-de-Landelles : 240,6 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.
Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R) won the French national title on local roads in Normandy, beating Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek) and Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies) in a three-up sprint in Saint-Martin-de-Landelles.
The winning move took shape with a shade under 70km to go, when Lapeira, Bernard and Gachinagnard, Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Rรฉmi Capron (Van Rysel Roubaix) forged clear of the peloton and opened a sizeable gap on a demanding circuit that included the climbs of the Cรดte de la Vallรฉe and the Cรดte des Biards.
With two laps of the 16km circuit remaining, the escapees still had more than a minute in hand on the bunch, where there was something of a staccato rhythm to the pursuit. Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) splintered things with an acceleration before Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) threatened to change the complexion of the race by running through his repertoire.
Alaphilippeโs repeated efforts splintered the bunch and helped to reduce the gap to the escapees, but the former world champion couldnโt get away alone, and when once he relented, the momentum seemed to tilt back towards the break.
Out in front, the on-form Lapeira sensed his opportunity, and he attacked with intent on the penultimate lap, bringing Bernard and Gachignard with him. They combined smoothly, carrying a 45-second lead into the final 5km, while Alaphilippe and Valentin Madouasโ efforts behind were snuffed out by the Decathlon-AG2R contingent.
Lapeira, already winner of three races in a breakout season, was the obvious favourite in the three-up sprint, even if Bernard, so generous in his efforts across the day, put up game resistance to take silver.
The chasers came home just over half a minute down, with Anthony Turgis taking fourth ahead of TotalEnergies teammate Sandy Dujardin.
โI dreamt about this, Iโm only 5km from home. These are the roads Iโve trained on since I was a child,โ said Lapeira. โThe race was perfect. The team did an incredible job, there wasnโt a false step. It was the day of my dreams. I donโt have the words. The scenario was perfect. On a personal level I did a perfect race, but so did the team.โ
Lapeiraโs run of success this season, which included a stage win at Itzulia Basque Country, is a microcosm of Decathlon-AG2Rโs astonishing campaign. The team has picked up 25 wins so far in 2024, and they will look with confidence to the Tour de France, where Lapeira is in line to make his debut.
โItโs an incredible season for us,โ he said. โWeโre collecting what weโve been working on all these months. I never dreamt of a 2024 like this, the jersey is the cherry on the cake.โ
Results :
 won the French national title on local roads in Normandy, beating Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek) and Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies) in a three-up sprint in Saint-Martin-de-Landelles.
The winning move took shape with a shade under 70km to go, when Lapeira, Bernard and Gachinagnard, Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Rรฉmi Capron (Van Rysel Roubaix) forged clear of the peloton and opened a sizeable gap on a demanding circuit that included the climbs of the Cรดte de la Vallรฉe and the Cรดte des Biards.
With two laps of the 16km circuit remaining, the escapees still had more than a minute in hand on the bunch, where there was something of a staccato rhythm to the pursuit. Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) splintered things with an acceleration before Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) threatened to change the complexion of the race by running through his repertoire.
Alaphilippeโs repeated efforts splintered the bunch and helped to reduce the gap to the escapees, but the former world champion couldnโt get away alone, and when once he relented, the momentum seemed to tilt back towards the break.
Out in front, the on-form Lapeira sensed his opportunity, and he attacked with intent on the penultimate lap, bringing Bernard and Gachignard with him. They combined smoothly, carrying a 45-second lead into the final 5km, while Alaphilippe and Valentin Madouasโ efforts behind were snuffed out by the Decathlon-AG2R contingent.
Lapeira, already winner of three races in a breakout season, was the obvious favourite in the three-up sprint, even if Bernard, so generous in his efforts across the day, put up game resistance to take silver.
The chasers came home just over half a minute down, with Anthony Turgis taking fourth ahead of TotalEnergies teammate Sandy Dujardin.
โI dreamt about this, Iโm only 5km from home. These are the roads Iโve trained on since I was a child,โ said Lapeira. โThe race was perfect. The team did an incredible job, there wasnโt a false step. It was the day of my dreams. I donโt have the words. The scenario was perfect. On a personal level I did a perfect race, but so did the team.โ
Lapeiraโs run of success this season, which included a stage win at Itzulia Basque Country, is a microcosm of Decathlon-AG2Rโs astonishing campaign. The team has picked up 25 wins so far in 2024, and they will look with confidence to the Tour de France, where Lapeira is in line to make his debut.
โItโs an incredible season for us,โ he said. โWeโre collecting what weโve been working on all these months. I never dreamt of a 2024 like this, the jersey is the cherry on the cake.โ
<strong>Results : </strong>
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