France on top in...France! Vauquelin hits double and wins the Tour of the Région Pays de la Loire

After yesterday’s sprint stage, won by Sam Bennett, who claimed his second stage win in the French stage race and strengthened his lead in the general classification, today featured a trickier profile. The stage, which took the riders over 186 kilometers to the finish in Le Mans, included several short climbs.

For three riders, it seemed like the perfect terrain to launch an attack. The breakaway, featuring Andreas Leknessund of Uno-X Pro Cycling Team as the most notable name, went clear early. But they were never given much space, and with 100 kilometers to go, the gap was only a minute and a half.

Still, the gap hovered around a minute and a half over the next kilometers. The peloton didn’t close in just yet, allowing the three escapees to enter the local circuit with a solid lead. With 60 kilometers to go, however, the gap began to shrink toward one minute, mainly thanks to the work of Bennett’s team in the peloton.

With 40 kilometers to go, the breakaway looked close to being caught, but Leknessund gave it one more shot and briefly stayed ahead of the peloton. However, with 35 kilometers remaining, the Norwegian’s attempt was shut down, and a large group started moving toward the finale.

In the final 30 kilometers, the attacks came thick and fast. Multiple riders wanted to end the French stage race on a high note and tried to make their move. This eventually led to a breakaway group of eight riders, including Lander Loockx, Benjamin Thomas, and Kévin Vauquelin, all threats to Bennett’s GC lead, pulling away from the peloton.

With 15 kilometers to go, it looked like game over for Bennett. The general classification leader trailed a group of now fifteen riders by a minute and a half, five of whom, including Vauquelin and Leknessund, managed to break away from that group. With 10 kilometers left, it became clear that these five would fight for both the stage win and the overall victory.

Still, the closing kilometers were tense. With 7 kilometers to go, the leaders’ gap had shrunk to just 20 seconds. But the five managed to hold on. In the streets of Le Mans, it was Vauquelin who proved the strongest, taking both the final stage and the overall win at the Région Pays de la Loire Tour.