Fournier holds fast to Circuit de la Sarthe lead in time trial

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Marc Fournier of FDJ impressed for the second day in a row at the Circuit de la Sarthe-Pays de la Loire as he finished fifth in the 6.8km individual time trial and therefore increased his lead over his competitors for the general classification except for Jérôme Coppel (IAM Cycling) who narrowly lost the stage to Russian specialist Anton Vorobyev (Katusha).

"I'm happy," Vorobyev said. "I came here to target the time trial because I'm a specialist and to help [Tiago] Machado." Vorobyev was the U23 world champion against the clock beating Rohan Dennis by 44 seconds in Valkenburg in 2012. The 25-year-old only won two races since with the Russian time trial championship in 2014 and the prologue of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen last year.

After missing out on the victory in the first two stages with Sondre Holst Enger third and Matteo Pelucchi, IAM Cycling was frustrated again as Coppel and former world record holder Matthias Brändle completed the course less than one second slower than Vorobyev. They'll be the team to watch for FDJ in the seven laps of the queen stage that includes the ascent of the Monts des Avaloirs, the highest peak of western France at 416 metres above sea level.

"Very few riders like this climb because it badly hurts the legs," said Fournier who was born only 25km from there in Alençon. There'll be high expectations around the young Frenchman who defends an overall lead for the first time in a pro race.

"I'm over the moon," he commented. "I didn't expect to be in this situation at all. I came to this race out of the blue to replace Odd Christian Eiking who was sick. It was strange to see experienced riders like Sébastien Chavanel, Kevin Reza and Benoît Vaugrenard protecting me this morning. I knew I had good abilities for time trial but my time shows that I have recovered well from my breakaway yesterday."

Interestingly, Fournier wasn't riding on the new time trial bike developed by his team and French manufacturer Lapierre than has made FDJ a team time trial winner for the first time in 20 years at La Méditerranéenne, and later a third placed at the highly competitive similar event at Tirreno-Adriatico. "I felt strong," the 21 year old from Normandy realized. "It's fantastic to be so close to big names like Vorobyev, Coppel and Brändle. It proves how good my form is now."

With two stages to go, Fournier enjoys a 2:24 lead over Coppel and 2:38 over Thomas Voeckler who certainly hasn't said his last word. "The final win isn't acquired yet," he said. "But a two minutes margin is something. But now I can only believe in my chances."

Previously, Bernard Hinault (1975), Greg LeMond (1980), Thomas Löfkvist (2004) and Luke Durbridge (2012) have won the Circuit de la Sarthe at the age of 20 or 21.

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