Hurel claims first pro win on home soil at Polynormande

Tony Hurel of Europcar sealed the first victory of his pro career as he claimed the Polynormande. In an impressive bunch gallop, the 24-year-old Frenchman outsprinted Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), who took the lead of the French Cup, while Davy Commeyne (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony) rounded out the top three.

The most aggressive rider of the day was definitely Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r-La Mondiale). The sprinter who withdrew from the Tour de France only 48 hours prior to the start was cruelly reined in with 300 metres to go.

Mondory was part of the main breakaway that took shape after only 29 kilometres of racing. The break also included Jonathan Hivert (Saur-Sojasun), Arnaud Gérard and Arnaud Courteille (FDJ-BigMat), Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale), Jérôme Cousin and Vincent Jérôme (Europcar), Sébastien Duret (Bretagne-Schuller), Yoann Bagot (Cofidis), Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen), Pierre-Luc Périchon, Toms Skujins and Thomas Vaubourzeix (La Pomme Marseille), Fabien Schmidt (Roubaix-Lille Métropole), Steven Tronet (Auber 93), Freddy Bichot and Tomasz Olejnik (Véranda Rideau-U), as well as Etienne Briard (French national team). Their maximum lead was 1:40.

Later on, the group split up with Mondory attacking to ride alone in the last 25 kilometres. "Every year this race goes to someone who uses his physique to win out of the bunch," said the Frenchman who lives just a few miles away from Saint-Martin-de-Landelles, the village of Tour de France speaker Daniel Mangeas who organizes the Polynormande. "This is a local race for me but here or in Beijing, my motivation for winning is the same. The expectations of the crowd are higher here.

"People have probably enjoyed my show but when they come back in ten years' time and look at the record book, Tony Hurel will still be the winner. Only the result counts and I feel an enormous frustration but my reaction after my withdrawal from the Tour de France is very positive, I think. I've been scared to see to my old knee problems bouncing back but it was just a tendinitis at the worst time of the year. Now I hope for a beautiful Vuelta. I always want to repay my team that gives me the privilege to be a pro cyclist."

The other frustrated sprinter was Dumoulin. "[Saur-Sojasun] Julien Simon and I had the same idea to increase our lead in the French Cup over Arnaud Démare and the other absent riders," the Cofidis road captain said. "But Julien crashed and my derailleur was destroyed in that accident. I changed bikes and it was a bit chaotic at the end with the rain. I didn't have the necessary final jump to beat Hurel. It's frustrating because I had the win in the legs. I earned a big advantage in the French Cup but it's not over yet. I'll do all the remaining races."

Hurel had something in common with Mondory: he, too, is a local rider. "I live in Lisieux, Normandy," the Europcar rider said. "I came and watched this race when I was a kid, I raced here as an under 17. It's incredible that my first pro win happens here, in front of my family and friends. I hope this is a first milestone of my career and it'll take me to the top. I heard that the most difficult thing is to win for the first time. I want more, starting with Paris-Corrèze this week."