Rolland wins Circuit Cycliste Sarthe

Cyclo-cross star Francis Mourey enjoyed success in the Circuit de la Sarthe's final stage, where he held off the peloton to claim what is only his second victory on the road in 10 years of racing for FDJ. Additionally, Pierre Rolland (Team Europcar), in his eighth pro season, won the general classification of a stage race for the first time and with his Circuit de la Sarthe title in hand signified that he's ready for Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"This final stage was very, very, very difficult," Rolland said after getting off his bike at Saint-Vincent-de-Lorouër. "This morning I felt an enormous confidence and I had an extraordinary team around me. Without my teammates, I would have never been able to control all the attacks.

"I was only scared of the meteorological conditions as snow was forecasted. Fortunately, we haven't had any of that. Otherwise it would have been harder to win the Circuit de la Sarthe."

Only after 50 kilometres and many attacks did four riders manage to go clear: Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), Marco Canola (Bardiani-Valvole-CSF Inox), Lloyd Mondory (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge), who ended up winning the king of the mountains competition.

Left as a miserable duo at the front in rainy and cold conditions (around 3°C), Canola and Mondory saw one man bridging the gap by himself with 30 kilometres to go. A 7-time French champion for cyclo-cross, Mourey was not affected by the weather. Only Mondory, who resumed racing three weeks ago after a rib cage surgery in November, managed to hold the pace of the FDJ rider but he couldn't take any turns on the final, 13km lap. The bunch was very close behind, but Mourey managed to win the stage ahead of Mondory, just two seconds up on a hard-charging field led in by Jonathan Hivert (Sojasun).

"When I saw Europcar ruling the bunch for GC, I decided to go solo," Mourey said. "I could do it because I was far down in the overall ranking. But having pulled for Nacer Bouhanni these past few days, I left some strength on the road. It's a great outcome.

With Sunday's win with Nacer [at the Val d'Ille Classic] and his stage here at Circuit de la Sarthe, it makes it three victories for FDJ in five days of racing. I'm really not used to that. This is only my second win on the road."

Known as a faithful domestique on the road, Mourey turned pro in 2004 and claimed stage 2 of the Route du Sud that year while racing at the service of eventual overall winner Bradley McGee.

Stars of the Tour de France don't have many opportunities to win stage races but Rolland didn't miss out as he took the lead atop the Mont des Avaloirs on stage 4. "To win an overall classification gives a very different feeling," said the double Alpine stage winner at the Tour de France. "Now I know what it means to wear the yellow jersey and to have a team behind."

Rolland's next big goal is Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He'll continue his preparation for the Belgian Monument with Paris-Camembert and the Giro del Trentino on his race schedule.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Full Results
1Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ4:19:20
2Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 1 - Cell 2
3Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun0:00:02
4Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF InoxRow 3 - Cell 2
5Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) KatushaRow 4 - Cell 2
6Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 5 - Cell 2
7Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 6 - Cell 2
8Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-EnduraRow 7 - Cell 2
9Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 8 - Cell 2
10Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-SharpRow 9 - Cell 2
11Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack LeopardRow 10 - Cell 2
12Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-EnduraRow 11 - Cell 2
13Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 12 - Cell 2
14Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 13 - Cell 2
15Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 14 - Cell 2
16Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche EnvironnementRow 15 - Cell 2
17Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM CyclingRow 16 - Cell 2
18Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Bretagne-Seche EnvironnementRow 17 - Cell 2
19Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 18 - Cell 2
20Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJRow 19 - Cell 2
21Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM CyclingRow 20 - Cell 2
22Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack LeopardRow 21 - Cell 2
23Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) ColombiaRow 22 - Cell 2
24Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 23 - Cell 2
25Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 24 - Cell 2
26Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 25 - Cell 2
27Anthony Delaplace (Fra) SojasunRow 26 - Cell 2
28Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF InoxRow 27 - Cell 2
29Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJRow 28 - Cell 2
30Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-SharpRow 29 - Cell 2
31Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) ColombiaRow 30 - Cell 2
32Rémi Pauriol (Fra) SojasunRow 31 - Cell 2
33Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJRow 32 - Cell 2
34Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 33 - Cell 2
35Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF InoxRow 34 - Cell 2
36Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 35 - Cell 2
37Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar0:00:22
38David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team NetApp-Endura0:00:38
39Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Accent Jobs-WantyRow 38 - Cell 2
40Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) IAM CyclingRow 39 - Cell 2
41Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Seche EnvironnementRow 40 - Cell 2
42Théo Vimpere (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93Row 41 - Cell 2
43Sylvain Georges (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:01:31
44Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar0:02:12
45Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Col) Colombia0:02:15
46Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF InoxRow 45 - Cell 2
47Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) BigMat-Auber 930:02:25
48Leopold Konig (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura0:03:30
49Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement0:04:39
50Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Accent Jobs-WantyRow 49 - Cell 2
51Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) KatushaRow 50 - Cell 2
52Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 51 - Cell 2
53Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 52 - Cell 2
54Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge0:07:38
55Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) ColombiaRow 54 - Cell 2
56Will Routley (Can) Accent Jobs-WantyRow 55 - Cell 2
57Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 56 - Cell 2
58Rémi Cusin (Fra) IAM Cycling0:11:25
59Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM CyclingRow 58 - Cell 2
60Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 59 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 60 - Cell 2
DNFTakashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 61 - Cell 2
DNFDanilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack LeopardRow 62 - Cell 2
DNFGiacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack LeopardRow 63 - Cell 2
DNFJonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 64 - Cell 2
DNFChristian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-SharpRow 65 - Cell 2
DNFNathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-SharpRow 66 - Cell 2
DNFNacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJRow 67 - Cell 2
DNFAxel Domont (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 68 - Cell 2
DNFTimofey Kritskiy (Rus) KatushaRow 69 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Porsev (Rus) KatushaRow 70 - Cell 2
DNFBryan Coquard (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 71 - Cell 2
DNFKévin Reza (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 72 - Cell 2
DNFCyril Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 73 - Cell 2
DNFStéphane Poulhies (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 74 - Cell 2
DNFRomain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 75 - Cell 2
DNFJimmy Engoulvent (Fra) SojasunRow 76 - Cell 2
DNFRony Martias (Fra) SojasunRow 77 - Cell 2
DNFJean-Marc Marino (Fra) SojasunRow 78 - Cell 2
DNFDuber Armando Quintero Artunduaga (Col) ColombiaRow 79 - Cell 2
DNFSacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF InoxRow 80 - Cell 2
DNFMarco Coledan (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF InoxRow 81 - Cell 2
DNFFlorian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne-Seche EnvironnementRow 82 - Cell 2
DNFFlavien Dassonville (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93Row 83 - Cell 2
DNFBenoit Drujon (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93Row 84 - Cell 2
DNFDanilo Napolitano (Ita) Accent Jobs-WantyRow 85 - Cell 2
DNFGregory Habeaux (Bel) Accent Jobs-WantyRow 86 - Cell 2
DNSLuke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 87 - Cell 2
DNSBob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack LeopardRow 88 - Cell 2
DNSJesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack LeopardRow 89 - Cell 2
DNSArnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Seche EnvironnementRow 90 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Final general classification
1Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar17:04:01
2Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura0:00:10
3Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 2 - Cell 2
4Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard0:00:11
5Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling0:00:12
6Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff0:00:17
7Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun0:00:18
8Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff0:00:19
9Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ0:00:20
10Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff0:00:24
11Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar0:00:28
12Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox0:00:29
13Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling0:00:30
14Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 13 - Cell 2
15Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 14 - Cell 2
16Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia0:00:31
17Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ0:00:32
18Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:00:33
19Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:00:40
20Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox0:00:49
21Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha0:00:57
22Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Sojasun0:01:07
23Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement0:01:20
24Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) Colombia0:01:25
25Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ0:01:28
26Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp0:01:29
27Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Seche Environnement0:01:37
28Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar0:01:42
29David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team NetApp-Endura0:02:04
30Théo Vimpere (Fra) BigMat-Auber 930:02:55
31Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack Leopard0:02:57
32Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun0:03:05
33Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:03:08
34Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ0:03:13
35Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano0:03:23
36Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement0:03:31
37Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty0:04:08
38Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox0:04:45
39Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar0:04:53
40Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp0:05:00
41Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) IAM Cycling0:05:29
42Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge0:05:37
43Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) BigMat-Auber 930:07:15
44Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:07:37
45Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo-Tinkoff0:07:47
46Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Col) Colombia0:09:04
47Sylvain Georges (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:09:21
48Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox0:09:58
49Leopold Konig (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura0:10:22
50Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement0:11:59
51Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano0:12:19
52Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff0:14:36
53Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha0:17:32
54Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Accent Jobs-Wanty0:18:14
55Rémi Cusin (Fra) IAM Cycling0:19:12
56Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura0:19:45
57Will Routley (Can) Accent Jobs-Wanty0:20:27
58Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) Colombia0:20:35
59Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge0:27:51
60Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling0:32:04
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Points classification
1Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling41pts
2Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha33Row 1 - Cell 3
3Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale28Row 2 - Cell 3
4Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp28Row 3 - Cell 3
5Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar25Row 4 - Cell 3
6Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ25Row 5 - Cell 3
7Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun24Row 6 - Cell 3
8Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale24Row 7 - Cell 3
9Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura22Row 8 - Cell 3
10Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano22Row 9 - Cell 3
11Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura21Row 10 - Cell 3
12Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling20Row 11 - Cell 3
13Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard19Row 12 - Cell 3
14Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge16Row 13 - Cell 3
15Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox14Row 14 - Cell 3
16Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits13Row 15 - Cell 3
17Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox11Row 16 - Cell 3
18Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff10Row 17 - Cell 3
19Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale10Row 18 - Cell 3
20Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff9Row 19 - Cell 3
21Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits9Row 20 - Cell 3
22Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia9Row 21 - Cell 3
23Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling6Row 22 - Cell 3
24Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge6Row 23 - Cell 3
25Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox5Row 24 - Cell 3
26Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha5Row 25 - Cell 3
27Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar4Row 26 - Cell 3
28Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement3Row 27 - Cell 3
29Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun2Row 28 - Cell 3
30Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano2Row 29 - Cell 3
31Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ1Row 30 - Cell 3
32Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff1Row 31 - Cell 3
33Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox1Row 32 - Cell 3
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Mountains classification
1Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge29pts
2Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale28Row 1 - Cell 3
3Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox20Row 2 - Cell 3
4Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha14Row 3 - Cell 3
5Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox12Row 4 - Cell 3
6Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement10Row 5 - Cell 3
7Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ4Row 6 - Cell 3
8Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ2Row 7 - Cell 3
9Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Sojasun2Row 8 - Cell 3
10Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar1Row 9 - Cell 3
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Young riders classification
1Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano17:04:11
2Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Seche Environnement0:01:27
3Théo Vimpere (Fra) BigMat-Auber 930:02:45
4Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox0:04:35
5Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff0:14:26
6Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura0:19:35
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Teams classification
1Team Saxo-Tinkoff51:13:04
2Team Europcar0:01:01
3FDJ0:01:17
4Bretagne-Seche Environnement0:02:49
5Cofidis,Solutions Credits0:03:09
6Ag2R La Mondiale0:03:26
7Sojasun0:03:36
8Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox0:04:44
9IAM Cycling0:05:12
10Team NetApp-Endura0:08:07
11Colombia0:09:59
12Team Argos-Shimano0:14:55
13Accents Jobs-Wanty0:33:34

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Latest on Cyclingnews