Boucles de la Mayenne: Valentin Retailleau takes narrow breakaway win on stage 3

Valentin Retailleau (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) took an ecstatic win on stage 3 of Boucles de la Mayenne from the day’s breakaway, which survived by a handful of metres as Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) confirmed his overall victory in the race.

His breakaway companion Gorka Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) took second as Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) took the sprint for third as a last-minute crash involving Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar) in the splinters of the breakaway caused chaos in the lead outs of the finale.

The minor gap at the finish did nothing to upset the overall general classification, as Bettiol claimed victory ahead of Retailleau’s teammate Benoît Cosnefroy by a margin of 23 seconds. Behind them in third, French rider Axel Zingle (Cofidis) was another five seconds back at an overall margin of 28 seconds.

“It’s a great day today, it’s my first road victory and just a brilliant day,” Retailleau said after the finish. He also played down the impact of crosswinds which were thought to have upset the main peloton through the day. 

It’s the latest in an impressive winning streak for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, which Retailleau praised. “We’ve got a great feeling, a great dynamic in the team. Lots of hard work being put in. I know that Benoît is happy for me.”

How it Unfolded

The race began from the quaint town of Quelaines-Saint-Gault for 169.2km, with four laps of a 5.2km technical circuit at Laval.

The main breakaway of the day consisted of Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar), Valentin Retailleau (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Erik Fetter and Diego Pablo Sevilla (both Polti Kometa), Gorka Sorarrain (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Tars Poelvoorde (Lotto Dstny Dev). 

The group was given little breathing room, as the gap to the main peloton barely swelled over two minutes. 

With only the short and shallow climbs of Côte de la Besnerie, Côte de Nuillé and Côte de la Boissière along the route, the group had no trouble sticking together on the largely flat course until in the final 40km both Sevilla and Poelvoorde were ejected from the group.

The last hour was a heart-wrenching battle for the four remaining escapees as they hovered less than one minute ahead of the main group, which was agitated by a brave bridging effort from Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny).

However, as the race entered the final technical circuits in Laval they were given a chance to hold off an indecisive pack. 

Into the final lap, Norsgaard rode aggressively with a bold attack on his breakaway companions but was caught by Sorarrain and Retailleau before crashing – a disruption which cascaded through the main pack and perhaps aided Retailleau’s route to victory.

With only metres between the remnants of the breakaway and the main peloton, Retailleau’s final victory was the type of underdog victory we often hope for on flat sprint stages but rarely see.

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