Chavanel wins with solo attack

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Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) won the Elite men’s French road race title with a brave solo attack on the hilly circuit in northern France.

The ever-aggressive Frenchman got across to the front of the race in the finale and then attacked alone with two laps and 27km to go. 2010 French champion Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) and Anthony Roux (FDJ) set off in pursuit but they failed to work together to close the gap and Chavanel climbed to the finish, knowing he was about to take his first ever French national title.

Roux took the sprint for second place, 38 seconds down, with Voeckler a disappointed third.

“There couldn’t have been a better way to win,” Chavanel said. “Arriving solo you get the chance to savour the victory. I attacked from far away because there were many riders ahead and if I had waited any longer I would have risked getting shut out of the final.

"Jeje [Jerome Pineau -ed.] did a great job for me. The two of us made a fantastic team,” said Chavanel. “I’m really happy, it will be a huge honour for me to wear this jersey on the roads in the Tour. I’ll try to honour it as best I can, showing my fans a good time by attacking my way.”

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