Tour du Poitou-Charentes stage 3: Marc Sarreau takes maiden pro win

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FDJ neo-pro Marc Sarreau entered the world of successful sprinters on Thursday as he claimed his first professional victory on stage 3 of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes ahead of MTN-Qhubeka’s Tyler Farrar.

At the stage finish in Loudun, the home of Theophraste Renaudot, who was considered the father of journalism after he founded "La Gazette" in May 1631, Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo) took over from Arnaud Gérard (Bretagne-Séché Environnement) in the lead of the general classification thanks to a time bonus collected on the road.

"I’ve been looking for this first win since the beginning of the year so it’s a relief to finally get it," declared the 22-year-old Sarreau.

"I was frustrated to not have made the front group yesterday. It was my entire fault. Thanks to my team, I was well positioned for the sprint. To beat a big name like Farrar adds value to my victory in the eye of the public. In professional cycling, there isn’t any small victory. I knew this was probably my only chance to win a stage at the Tour du Poitou-Charentes. I felt under pressure to perform."

The sprint was led out by Etixx-Quick Step. Following his first win of the year on stage 2, Matteo Trentin was hungry for more but he had a flat tyre in the last kilometre. "Then the team decided to do the sprint for me," said Julian Alaphilippe who finished fifth. "I took the last curve in first position but unfortunately, I didn’t have the legs to finish it off. However, I’m happy for Marc [Sarreau] who is my long time friend and we are in a good situation with Tony Martin before the time trial."

FDJ’s road captain Jérémy Roy, who won an amateur race on the same finishing line in Loudun fourteen years ago, explained how things played out, with lone breakaway rider Edvaldas Siskevicius of Marseille 13-KTM reined in within 10km to go. 

"In the past two days, Marc won the bunch sprint but it was not for the win," said Roy. "He needed to get his chance to win, that’s why Arthur [Vichot] rode all stage with Etixx at the front. He didn’t mess up in the hair pin with 400 metres to go."

Farrar wasn’t too disappointed to lose to Sarreau by a length of a bike. "I didn’t know this new French sprinter," the American told Cyclingnews. "I had heard his name and I was told he’s young and talented. It was a slippery finale and he rode a nice sprint. This was the first time I've done a sprint for myself for a long time. It was for Gerald [Ciolek] before. It’s interesting to see where I’m at. After the Tour, I took a big rest and I’m trying to build my form for the World Championships. I could test the legs today and it’s ok."

Sarreau is the fifth French U23 cyclist to win a pro race this year after Lorrenzo Manzin (FDJ) at the Roue tourangelle, Quentin Jaurégui (AG2R-La Mondiale) at the GP de la Somme, Anthony Turgis (Cofidis) at the Boucles de la Mayenne (stage 2 plus GC) and Pierre Latour (AG2R-La Mondiale) at the Tour de l’Ain (stage 5). They were eligible for the Tour de l’Avenir this week but have decided to speed their career up.

"I’m just a neo pro and my team-mates trust me to win so I guess I’ve given them some reasons to do it again. It’s great for me," Sarreau added

Vanmarcke is the new leader of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes but the classification is set to be reshuffled through the afternoon’s time trial involving top specialists like Martin, Adriano Malori, Alex Dowsett, Jonathan Castroviejo, Rasmus Quaade and Johan Le Bon.

Results

General Classification after stage 3a