Gaudin wins Tro-Bro Leon

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Damien Gaudin (Armée de Terre) sealed the victory in Monday's Tro-Bro Léon, out-sprinting Frederik Backaert (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) out of the two man breakaway. Benjamin Giraud (Delko Marseille) won the sprint for third.

The leading duo had just seconds on the peloton as they rode under the 1km-to-go to go banner, but they managed to hold off the sprint behind by seven seconds. It was Gaudin's second win of a renaissance season that also included a stage victory in the Tour de Normandie. Before stepping down from the WorldTour this season, Gaudin's last win was the Cholet - Pays De Loire in 2013.

The former AG2R-La Mondiale rider wanted to prove himself on the gravel roads of Brittany one week after Paris-Roubaix as he missed his favorite classic due to his relegation in a third division team. He did so emphatically at Tro-Bro Léon, claiming Armée de Terre's second win in the French Cup series in three days after Julien Loubet came first at the Tour du Finistère on Saturday.

"Cycling is a difficult sport," Gaudin commented after his win. "When you work in the shadow with no reward, it's a pain in the arse. Last week I was so bitter that I didn't even watch TV. I went to train hard instead because I wanted to show that Gaudin can still be a bike rider. I looked at the results of Paris-Roubaix in the evening though."

When he did get around to checking the final standings, Gaudin would see the names of Greg Van Avermaet and Zdenek Stybar in the first two positions; when Gaudin finished fifth in Roubaix in 2013, Van Avermaet was fourth and Stybar sixth. Then riding for Europcar, Gaudin joined AG2R-La Mondiale for the following three seasons but his contract wasn't renewed at the end of last year, hence his move to the Armée de Terre, the Continental team of the French army.

"During the off season, I told them that the Tro-Bro Léon would be our Paris-Roubaix this year, as we don't qualify for Paris-Roubaix as a continental team," Gaudin said. "End of March and April is always my best period. After the GP Denain on Thursday, I flew to Brest to prepare for the Tro-Bro Léon the same way I used to prepare for Paris-Roubaix. I reconned the whole 180km of the course."

"In 2013, I won the prologue of Paris-Nice and Cholet-Pays de Loire, which is my home race," he said. "But today it's my most beautiful victory. The Tro-Bro Léon is mythical. It's a second Paris-Roubaix." Aged 30, the Frenchman hasn't given up his dreams in the Hell of the North. "I've come fifth in Roubaix, I can make the podium, I can even win it one day," he insisted.

A few minutes after winning Tro-Bro Léon, he received a congratulatory message from French defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who has been a driving force behind the army team. The manner in which Gaudin claimed Monday's win was a convincing one, as he rode away with 50 kilometres to go.

"When I found myself at the front with Frederik Backaert, I knew he was someone who rides hard like me," he said. "He was the right companion to have. Only in the last lap he wasn't pulling anymore."

With FDJ doing most of the work and mainly Matthieu Ladagnous chasing to bridge the gap for a sprint finish to favor Arnaud Démare, the leading duo was just 15 seconds ahead with three kilometres to go. "I thought we'd come across because FDJ and AG2R-La Mondiale both rode for that," third-placed Benjamin Giraud of told Cyclingnews. "They were very strong at the front. I'm very happy to be third."

Backaert, on the other hand, wasn't content wth his podium spot. "I'm very disappointed because the Tro-Bro Léon is the nicest race of the year for me," he said. "I don't know how to sprint. Maybe I sprinted from too far out."

Laurent Pichon of Fortuneo-Vital Concept finished fourth to retain the lead in the French Cup standings.

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