PTo have its 42nd edition, the test organized by the cyclist apoge is densified by adding a day of racing and innovating with a team time trial. A decision that will appeal to the National Division 1 training which will be present because the next French Cup round, the Champagne tribute will be disputed in this format on Sunday, May 18. As of this Friday, May 9, the 23 teams committed, including a British (360 cycling), will be overwhelmed and this on four stages to travel in three days.
It is the town of Virollet which will see the departure of the first step, ending in Pons. On the program, 160 kilometers with five climbs on the menu of the Côte de l’Echallier, in Mortagne, before leaving towards Pons and its arrival circuit located opposite its famous castle.
The last forces
We are used to saying that cycling is an individual sport that is short by teams. This maxim will be more true than ever on Saturday morning with the time played between Jonzac and Saint-Germain-de-Lusignan for 17 km. The training will start every five minutes. At this stage of the race, we will not yet know the name of the final winner but they will not be very numerous to claim victory in the general classification. In the afternoon, the peloton will have a more rolling course than the day before between Saint-Léger and Pont-l’Abbé-d’Arnoult.
The 100-kilometer long stage will cross, among other things, the municipalities of Pisany and Corme-Royal, respective “homelands” by Dominique Rocheteau and Jacques Bossis. Sunday, the contenders for the succession of Victor Papon, winner in 2024, will have to throw their last forces on the 158 kilometers between Bougneau and Saint-Martial-de-Mirambeau with six climbs listed in the ranking of the best climber.
A final step probably harder than Friday. Although not listed this season as a French Cup round, Charente-Maritime’s loops will be a very open event. Indeed, 6 teams of DN1, 8 of DN2, including the top 16 cycling, and 8 of DN3, whose peak, will be at the start.
Chilton, Hardouin, Morice…
Difficult to find a favorite but names, however, come back more than others. Starting with Ben Chilton. The young Briton won last year in the first step in the colors of the apoge precisely. Licensed at Mayenne V&B Monbana, he will be able to count on the support of Tom Mainguenaud, winner of the Loire valley circuit last March.
-Louis Hardouin, of the Chalettois handlebar, victorious at the turn of Charente Limousine, will be another serious candidate for the yellow jersey just like Ludovic Morice of the Olympic cycling. Everyone will want to enroll their name for this event which in the past has seen the victories of Stéphane Barthe, champion of France professional and winner of the Tour Poitou-Charentes, or even Philippe Maudu, current sports director of the Groupama FDJ training.
The program
Friday May 9, step 1: Virollet – Pons (159.3 km), departure at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 10, step 2: Jonzac-Saint-Germain-de-Lusignan team clutch (17.6 km), departure at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 10, stage 3: Saint-Léger-Pont-l’Abbé-d’Arnoult (100 km), departure at 3 p.m.; Sunday, May 11, stage 4: Bougneau-Saint-Martial-de-Mirambeau (158.6 km), departure at 1 p.m.
The cycling peak makes no complex
It is very rare in cycling to evolve on its land. It is characteristic of individual sports. So when the opportunity arises, it should not be let it go. This weekend of May 9, 10 and 11, the apoge will therefore align a team from the Charente-Maritime loops with the firm intention of illustrating. Certainly things have changed somewhat for the runners of Lucas Pilet, since the Saintongeais club had to descend from a notch in the hierarchy in the National Division 3. “We left with a younger workforce. Runners who discovered this level of competition at the start of the year, ”recalls the sports director. The start of the season was therefore above all an apprenticeship. DN3 races are longer, the race tactic is different. Many things to eat for these hopes of the club. But the job quickly returned. The maritime training therefore went to the second phase of its season with a first success. Last week, Max Krasinski won during the first stage of the Tour des Mauges, at the same time winning the final classification. A first victory at the elite level in 2025 which called others. Supporting proof: the team of President Cyprien Bricout signed a beautiful 11th place during the team time trial of the time 47. It is therefore with an inflated to block mind that the boys of the apoge will present themselves on the starting line this Friday. “We are able to get a result on a step or two,” comments Pilet. But it will be complicated. There will be two divisions of deviation with certain teams. We will weigh less on the race. But his runners will have the advantage of playing at home, on roads that serve them as training all year round. They will therefore not be surprised by certain difficulties, such as the sequence of the coasts of “Tire ass” and from Echallier to Mortagne, that it will be necessary to pass five times on Friday. “And Sunday, it will be even harder,” adds Lucas Pilet. Men in the red and black jersey know it. It could give them a step ahead. P. A.
