In true Latour style! Pierre Latour claims victory with a powerful attack in Boucles de la Mayenne

The Boucles de la Mayenne began Thursday evening with a prologue around Laval. Expected names such as Benoit Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R) and Marijn van den Berg (EF Education) were at the front, but they were surprised by 21-year-old Frenchman Thibaud Gruel of Groupama-FDJ. The youngster had already featured prominently this year but finally claimed his first professional victory here. However, he had a tough task defending the leader's jersey in the difficult first stage.

The stage between Saint-Berthevin and Juvigné had several annoying little hills in the final. They weren't very steep, but the constantly changing terrain seemed tailor-made for Van den Berg. It was bound to come down to a sprint. Four riders tried to prevent that from happening from the start: the Frenchmen Clément Izquierdo (Cofidis), Lenaic Langella (CIC-U-Nantes), and Célestin Guillon (Van Rysel Roubaix) were joined by Guillon's teammate Kenny Molly.

It was a challenging endeavor for the four riders and, ultimately, an impossible one. The peloton remained in control, thanks to Groupama-FDJ and Tudor. As the riders approached the local lap, the gap was only 2 minutes. In that difficult lap, their lead quickly disappeared, thanks to Lotto, who started to set a fast pace. With 25 kilometers to go, the gap was only 35 seconds. Would we see a sprint, or could an attacker seize his chance? Izquierdo and Guillon, the last breakaway riders, remained strong for a while.

The breakaways in the final, including Jordan Labrosse (AG2R) and Alessandro De Marchi (Jayco-AlUla), were neutralized, and when Izquierdo was also caught, we could prepare for a sprint. Right? Not if Arkéa-B&B had anything to say about it. A lead-out on the most challenging hill of the day was followed by Clément Venturini. He was followed by Damien Touzé (Cofidis), Anthon Charmig (XDS-Astana), Michel Hessmann (Movistar), and Kelland O'Brien (Jayco-AlUla). However, on the next climb, the pack came back together.

At that moment, Joris Chaussinand of CIC-U-Nantes accelerated. The continental rider chose a good moment and opened up a gap. In the last 3 kilometers, he gained a 10-second lead. It wasn't enough, though, because he was caught just before the finish line. Once again, it was Arkéa with an acceleration, this time with Florian Sénéchal. He was countered by Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies). The peloton didn't react, so the Frenchman took his first European victory since 2021.