Montluçon taught the peloton a lesson

“Then I started to believe it.” Titouan Margueritat is not the only one who thought he could raise his arms on the line of the Grand Prix de la Sologne des Étangs. Even the public and the connoisseurs saw the Castres rider winning this Saturday, June 29. But he missed six kilometers, while the peloton swallowed up Romain Beaune, his last runaway companion, shortly before.

Massive sprint for Martinez

So we say that the race is over for the Atria-Montluçon rider. But that is to misunderstand the character and strength of the very recent French amateur champion. Because, in the peloton of 113 men, there was still an excellent card to play for the Auvergne team: Yannick Martinez. To catch up with Marasco, Meyers and Carreau, the three escapees from the money time, Titouan Margueritat gets on the board.

“He rode between 2 km and 600 m from the finish, I got behind him and I no longer needed to rub or waste energy”, says his teammate. And it paid off at the end of the home stretch. In a massive sprint like in 2022 and the victory of Ronan Racault, Yannick Martinez was the fastest: “I threw 200 m. By catching up with the breakaway, I was able to take the slipstream”. The former professional rider and protégé of Jean-René Bernaudeau thus beat the South African Gustav Basson and the Briton Ben Chilton to obtain a first success this season.

Hyperactive dynamite Margueritat

And he will be able to thank his Indrian friend. “As long as I was in front, he didn’t have to do anything”summarizes the latter. And it must be said that Titouan Margueritat was the great host of the day on the Sologne roads. From kilometer zero, the radio crackled: “the blue-white-red jersey takes the lead and stretches the peloton”. Five minutes later, he was in a group of nine. Then, after 15 kilometers, the French champion initiated the good breakaway.

The group, also made up of Timothé Gabriel (Schwenheim), Yanis Seguin (Cholet), Julien Jamot (Torigni) and Romain Beaune (Douai), had a maximum lead of two minutes 25 seconds when passing Marolle-en-Sologne. “I wanted to be at the front to have fun, have fun in a breakaway and show off the tricolor jersey. » Words after actions. The grimaces of his companions never lie, we can say that he hurt everyone.

“We played really well”

“I gave everything and I had confidence in Yannick in the sprint. In both cases, we could win so there is no disappointment on my side”he says, drawing a parallel with the French championship race in Normandy where the roles were reversed. “We played really well”, Martinez said. Atria-Montluçon’s tactics were flawless thanks to the legs of its two leaders. A race which perfectly reflects the domination of the Auvergne at this level.

Leader of the Nationale 2 trophy, regional and national champion, the club still had to shine in the Coupe de France. This happened this Saturday around the Villemorant castle in Neung-sur-Beuvron. “The next two steps will suit me even moreteases the 36-year-old winner, tenth here last year. We have a team that is comfortable with punching, so I hope we will move up the French Cup rankings.” Montluçon thus occupies third place in the general classification, behind Team N’side and La Roche Vendée Cyclisme, winner of the first race and author of a good operation this Saturday with a fourth and a sixth place for Florent Guilbaud and Damien Bodard.

3^e stage : 1. Y. Martinez (Montluçon) the 163.5 km in 3 h 28’14, 2. G. Basson (RSA, Roanne), 3. B. Chilton (GBR, Apogé Charente-Maritime), 4. F. Guilbaud (Team La Roche Vendée Cyclisme), 5. D. Menut (Roanne), 6. D. Bodard (Team La Roche Vendée Cyclisme), 7. F. Cappoen (CV Lucéen), 8. M. Billotet (Blagnac), 9. D. Perleaux (Cholet), 10. J. Lepoittevin Dubost tmt…
By teams : 1. CR Roanne (70 pts), 2. Team La Roche Vendée Cycling (70 pts), 3. Team Atria-Montluçon (68 pts)…
General : 1. Tean N’Side (163 pts), 2. Team La Roche Vendée Cycling (146 pts), 3. Team Atria-Montluçon (119 pts)…