For Lomig Le Clec’h and the Sportbreizh Tydor Armor-Lux team (N3), the problems began the day before the start of the race. While he should have sported a new bike for one of the major events on the Breton calendar, a mechanical problem prevented him from taking the start with his new car. As a result, he had to take off on a…gravel bike. “And go to the Essor with a gravel…” he said placidly.
Musset finishes with courage
For the former winner of the Flèche Bigoudène, the negative spiral continued on Friday between Ploemeur and Languidic (56). After having a series of entry problems, he found himself alone, very far at the back of the race. Before deciding to dismount after about sixty kilometers. “We quickly understood that it was not going to be enough for the deadlines,” commented, a little disillusioned, Thibault Quentric, the sports director of the Finistère team.
In addition to the setbacks of the 27-year-old from Brest, between the fall of Owen Musset, the broken hold of Alexis Le Guével and Jérémy Patoux quickly left behind, it was half of the team who had a bad day on this inaugural stage of the Breton Essor. “These are racing facts. But for everything to happen at the same time on the same stage… There’s a lot of disappointment because it’s an important race for us. We don’t deserve that,” regretted Quentric, whose Sportbreizh Tydor Armor-Lux team discovered Essor Breton.
If Lomig Le Clec’h had to resolve to give in in the face of the inexorable nature of the deadlines, his teammate Owen Musset fought until the end. Falling after only four kilometers, the Finistère spent almost the entire race – 148 kilometers – at the back, before finishing almost 20 minutes behind. With great courage. “I really didn’t want to give up. Luckily it’s L’Essor, it gave me that extra bit of soul. In those moments, we don’t think about anything, we just grit our teeth and move forward. I’m at the end,” he whispered after the line, his jersey torn, his shoulder badly bruised and his morale in the ground.
But after the rain comes the good weather. And Thibault Quentric was already looking for the positive: “It’s true that some of our runners had problems, but all the others got through it! We must not only see the negative side.”
