Already the author of a full and accomplished 2024 season, Brieuc Rolland completed it all this Saturday with a prestigious success on the Tour de Lombardie Espoirs. For his very last outing with “La Conti”, before joining the WorldTour team this winter, the 21-year-old Breton perfectly seized his chance around Oggiono. After having greatly participated in the selection in the leading group, he finally beat his last two rivals in the sprint, although the photo finish was necessary to give him the victory. This is the tenth success of the year for “La Conti”.
A week before their elders, the hopeful runners tackled their own “Dead Leaves Classic” this Saturday. Around Oggiono, the “small” Tour of Lombardy stretched over 170 kilometers and presented three difficulties, all located in the last seventy kilometers. Everything was supposed to settle down in the second part of the race, but the day’s scenario was less predictable than expected. “It was very quick in the first hourexplained Jérôme Gannat. The average was 45 km/h on the circuit around Oggiono to be done four times, before going for the Madonna del Ghisallo. Then, it happened at a certain point, a group of fourteen left, then another of seventeen a few minutes later with Brieuc. The junction was made in the tunnels preceding the climb of Madonna del Ghisallo. It was a bit confusing, but it’s also a hopeful race with teams of five. Brieuc felt the blow. He wasn’t expected to be in front at that point, but he did well, as favorites like Widar and Nordhagen stayed behind and never came back.”. “The objective with the team was above all not to miss a big wave or a dangerous blow, and that’s what happenedadded Brieuc. We found ourselves around thirty in front, I managed well and I hadn’t shown myself too much before that.”
“I’m super happy to be able to offer this victory to La Conti,” Brieuc Rolland
A large breakaway was then able to approach the Madonna del Ghisallo (8.7 km at 5.4%) with a little over a minute ahead of the peloton. “It went up quite quickly in front, and we extricated ourselves a little,” Brieuc continued. Embret Svestad-Bårdseng was alone in the lead for a time, but was joined shortly after the descent by a group of eight riders, to which Brieuc Rolland belonged. All these little people then headed towards the penultimate climb, and its passages at more than 10%, where the “La Conti” rider cleaned up. At the cost of a few restarts, the Breton reduced the group to just four units, namely Svestad-Bårdseng, Federico Savino, Gal Glivar and himself. “Brieuc is a runner who sees the race very well and who knows his qualitiessaid Jérôme. He wanted to avoid the sprint, and he was very active in the final. When the four of them came out, everyone collaborated until the last bump (1.5km at 8%), where Brieuc attacked again. He made a little difference, and I told myself that if he attacked the descent on Oggiono alone, it was over.” “I gave everything on the last climb, I left alone, but I was caught by Gilvar at the switch,” Brieuc recounted. The two men started the last five kilometers wheel to wheel, and even saw Savino establish the junction two miles from the goal.
A three-way sprint took shape at the start of the final straight. “I still believed in my sprint, because it was mostly cool,” said the Breton. “Sprinting is not his specialty, but this one is special and often involves few things, said Jérôme. In the last meters, the slightly less explosive runners sometimes manage to pass”. In second position at the start of the sprint, Brieuc Rolland was quickly overtaken by Federico Savino, but he did not break down and finally made his comeback in the final moments. The Italian and the Frenchman cut the line almost simultaneously. “They first announced Savino the winner, then we went to see the photo finish, and there was joy, confided Jérôme. It was I who announced it to Brieuc. He asked me if I was really sure, and I told him I had seen the photo. It was 3-4 centimeters away, but it was enough. The outcome was in our favor, for once.” And it is therefore with a striking victory that Brieuc Rolland punctuated his season. “I’m very happy, especially since I was really disappointed last week after the World Championshipshe said. I had worked hard to try to win, but I was really frozen and completely missed my race. It’s great to be able to catch up today. Plus, it was my last race with La Conti. They gave me so much. I’m super happy to be able to offer them this victory which is good for everyone. It was a day I will remember for a long time.”
“This highlights the work that has been done over the past two years,” Jérôme Gannat
After his victory in the Course de la Paix, his top-5 in Liège-Bastogne-Liège Espoirs or his top-10 in the Tour de l’Avenir, Brieuc Rolland has therefore added a thick line to his record, and he will be from tomorrow lined up with the WorldTour team for the Coppa Agostoni. “Winning the Tour of Lombardy Espoirs before moving on to the WorldTour can only give you confidencesaid Jérôme. His episode with La Conti ends in the most beautiful way. This highlights the work that has been done over the past two years. He has progressed really well. He is a runner you can count on every time the race is tough. I often said that he was missing a little something for victory, and today he had it. It’s great. I said last night at the briefing that we should have stars in our eyes when we came to this race. Generally speaking, races that have the same name as WorldTour events have a somewhat special flavor. When we say that we won the Tour of Lombardy U23, it makes an impression.” Joshua Golliker (8e) and Maxime Decomble (14e) also delivered a great race this Saturday, and now task their teammates in Paris-Tours this Sunday to imitate them.
