After a retirement false dawn in 2025 French rider Geoffrey Bouchard was looking forward to going out on different note this autumn. Last year's late-season offer of a contract for 2026 from TotalEnergies had appeared to have given him a do over, saving him from unceremoniously walking away on an injury with no chance to savour the moment of knowingly racing for the last time.
Lining up for a farewell as part of a team that are the defending champions at the 2026 Le Tour de Langkawi to say goodbye was an appealing prospect, therefore. That was particularly true when compared with the scenario he was faced with last year before the TotalEnergies contract came along, as he finished the season injured after crashing out at the Tour de Luxembourg.
"I had some good results in exotic races," said Bouchard, who has stood on the podium of the UAE Tour on a stage and finished in the top 10 overall as well as taken stage and overall podiums at the Tour of Oman. "I did sometimes very good results in hot conditions, and I'm very happy to do a last journey to finish my career differently."
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However, ultimately he ended up with a similar scenario to the one he faced in 2025 after a crash on the very first stage left him with a broken collarbone, stitches on his face and contemplating another injury to end his career.
Apart from Bouchard missing the chance to celebrate the final race of his nine-year career on the road from within the peloton, his crash left the team a man and another plan down. Bouchard was bandaged up and sitting on the sidelines before the first crucial GC challenge on stage 2, which finished at the top of the challenging new introduction to the race, Gunung Jerai.
The team had already faced a blow to their overall prospects as the squad which last year won with Joris Delbove had planned to bring Jordan Jegat along as their team leader this time. However, the rider who came tenth overall at the Tour de France this year got a late call up to race with the French team at the Road World Championships to replace an injured Louis Barré. The next plan, still a strong one, was to add Nicolas Breuillard to the squad to take Jegat's place, but then he was unwell on the day of the first crucial climb.
Sports director Thibaut Mace explained that Bouchard would have been the next plan had he been lining up rather than sitting at the start with his arm in a sling and face heavily bandaged. That left the squad turning to an untested alternative, Mathis Le Berre, who hadn't previously had the opportunity to see what he could do on a climb while racing for himself, rather than in support of another.
"We knew at the start of the day that it wouldn't be the day we wanted and so yeah, we managed to do the best for the team with Mathis, and Mathis did a great, great climb. He's not a climber, but he finished eighth at the top, so that's something really good," Mace told Cyclingnews at the start of stage 2.
"That was the day to try, the moment to try, and he gave the team something really really interesting for the future."
The silver lining on a dark cloud perhaps, but in the immediate future Le Berre will soon be facing another test. The team aim to support him to try and close down some of the 1:36 minute gap to race leader Lennart Jasch (Tudor Pro Cycling) so he can try and move up from eight overall on the longer, but not as harsh gradients, on the summit finishes in the Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands on Wednesday and Thursday.
"Because he's not a climber, so as it's less steep, it suits him better than yesterday," said Mace. "So that's why we are confident in him, and we will play all we can together."
*Cyclingnews attended Le Tour de Langkawi on an invitation/media package from the race that included travel and accommodation. In line with our editorial standards, our coverage is independent and was not subject to review, approval or influence by the organiser or any sponsor; no favourable coverage was promised or given in return.
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