Cycling, Tour du Périgord: Cholet scores a double victory

Thomas Garel especially saved the day for his teammate, Paul Connor, who was leading the general classification, after the latter was dropped a few kilometers from the finish and his team, which won the general classification. The Cholet team suffered attacks this Sunday on the roads of the Périgord Noir.

And they continued. Less than 100 kilometers from the finish, Cédric Bessaguet (Top 16 cycling) tried to go it alone. He was followed by two counter-attack groups, as the sky became threatening. The peloton regrouped once again, at the summit of the day's difficulty, the Croix D'Allon. The attacks continued, notably with Gabriel Peyencet (24th in the race) of the Sprinter Club du Périgord Vergt, who was riding under the colors of the Dordogne team, invited for this event. The Périgourdin tried to take the wheel. In vain. "Jean-Louis (Gauthier, president of the Velo-Club Monpaziérois, organizer of the event) wanted the Dordogne to be represented," explained Patrice Peyencet, the team's sports director, at the finish. In this team, there were also youngsters, like the two CCPD riders (Alexis Ladame and Alexandre Joussely) but the latter jumped on every lap of this demanding circuit, "where you really never rest," said Patrice Peyencet.

"I knew I was faster."

With five laps to go, Blagnac rider Cyril Couture continued to set the pace with a Cholet rider to manage the advance on the peloton. This group of ten breakaway riders gradually lost their lead over the two pursuers, including Cédric Bessaguet. The pace was steady and the pace was strong at the front of the race. So much so that the leader of the classification, Paul Connor (UC Cholet 49), was distanced with just over 65 kilometers to go. His teammate Thomas Garel then took responsibility for breaking away to secure the team victory in Cholet. "We found ourselves four down with two or three laps to go, and on the last climb, the one with me climbed hard. He tried to attack me several times, but I played with that. I knew I was faster than him," analyzed Thomas Garel. "It's a great day that concludes a great season for the team," congratulated the day's winner.

Good results for the CCPD

The Périgueux Dordogne cycling club was not participating in the Tour du Périgord this year, but in the 36th Tour des Landes. To start, the Périgourdins raced a 2.1-kilometer prologue in Saint-Paul-lès-Dax. Théo Laffineur took 8th place. This Saturday, the first real stage of the Tour des Landes took place around Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx over a distance of 131.3 kilometers. Here again, Théo Laffineur put in a strong performance, finishing 5th in the stage. Finally, this Sunday saw the final stage in Montfort-en-Chalosse. Mathieu Brousse finished 21st, Théo Laffineur 27th. Overall, Brousse took 17th place and Laffineur finished 21st.