Drama in France! Hirschi and co. take a wrong turn, Gregoire takes advantage and arrives solo in Faun-Ardèche Classic

It was going to be a fantastic race, judging by the start list and it did not disappoint. Defending champion Juan Ayuso was present, along with teammates Isaac Del Toro, Brandon McNulty, and Jan Christen, all potential contenders. Other big names at the start included Marc Hirschi, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Mattias Skjelmose, Valentin Madouas, Ben Healy, Michael Woods, and Enric Mas—an elite field for this French one-day race.

Seven riders broke away early on: Jonas Gregaard (Lotto), Kamiel Bonneu (Intermarché-Wanty), Baptiste Poulard (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies), Xabier Mikel Azparren (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Célestin Guillon (Van Rysel Roubaix), and Joris Chaussinand (CIC - U - Nantes). However, they were never given much of a gap—halfway through the race, their lead was only two minutes, as Tudor Pro Cycling and Groupama-FDJ kept the pace high in the peloton.

The hilly midsection of the race provided an opportunity for daredevils to launch an early move, but no one seemed eager to take the risk. Instead, the peloton descended and waited for the decisive finale, which featured the Saint-Romain-de-Lerps climb followed by the Val d'Enfer ascent. The breakaway was caught on the first slopes of the challenging climb, where Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) made the first move. However, it was Lorenzo Fortunato who managed to create a meaningful gap.

The Italian from XDS Astana carved out a solid lead, but the group of favorites wasn’t far behind, with UAE Team Emirates - XRG controlling the chase. On the climb, Fortunato was clearly the strongest, cresting the summit solo. However, on the descent, he lost significant time to Juan Ayuso and Enric Mas, who bridged the gap just before the final uphill section. As the Spanish duo joined him, Marco Brenner (Tudor) also made the junction. Ayuso eventually dropped back, leaving a trio to push on.

Behind them, a relatively large chasing group was closing in. Mas and Fortunato were the last to hold out, but with two kilometers to go, they were reeled in by a group of ten riders. Brenner, working for his leader Marc Hirschi, kept the pace high, setting up what seemed to be an inevitable sprint. Or so it appeared—until half of the front group took a wrong turn, allowing Romain Gregoire to seize the moment and cross the finish line solo.