2021 Cholet - Pays de Loire (1.1), France
42nd edition: Sunday, March 28, 2021
Cholet-Pays de Loire podium history | 2019 edition (2020 race was cancelled) | Map & profile
Cholet - Cholet, 201.8 km.
Elia Viviani is the victor.
Weather at the start/finish city of Cholet at 2:00 PM, local time: 16C (61F), sunny, with the wind from the southwest at 13 km/hr (8 mph). No rain is forecast.
The race: Here is the report posted by winner Elia Viviani's Cofidis team
Constantly improving since the start of the season, the Italian sprinter Elia Viviani has won in Cholet - Pays de la Loire, concluding a solid collective performance by the team. This is his first victory under the colors of Cofidis, the second for the northern squad this season.
It is a thrill, unique, a sensation that all sprinters are looking for. Managing to benefit from the precious work of his teammates, launching his sprint, feeling his lead, raising his arms to the sky ... Elia Viviani experienced this moment in Cholet this Sunday afternoon. Throughout the day, the team showed great dedication to counter the attacks and make sure they put their sprinter in the best possible condition. Thus, Pierre-Luc Périchon, Victor Lafay, Anthony Pérez, Simon Geschke, Emmanuel Morin, Eddy Finé and Fabio Sabatini all contributed to this great success.
“The start of the race was quite eventful,” says Jean-Luc Jonrond, the sporting director. We started to control behind the breakaway and each rider worked hard. Anthony (Pérez), Pierre-Luc (Périchon) and Simon (Geschke) were well mobilized throughout the day. And in the final, Emmanuel (Morin) did an excellent job in the last 2 kilometers before Fabio (Sabatini) propelled Elia to victory ” . At the end of this beautiful day, it is satisfaction that predominates. “ This victory is good for everyone ,” smiles Jean-Luc Jonrond.
This victory demonstrates the constant rise of Elia Viviani. Close to victory in the UAE Tour (a 2nd place and three 'top 5'), the Italian sprinter thus offers himself his 98th victory among the professionals. It symbolizes all his efforts, he who has always strived to work hard and never slacked off. However, nothing was easy last year during this special season linked to the health crisis which prevented him from working with serenity, especially on his automatisms with his teammates.
But the fact of having always believed in it and of training relentlessly, especially this winter, allowed him to find his way back to victory. This day also illustrates the great cohesion and team spirit that reigns at Cofidis this season. Everyone, staff and runners alike, hope to continue this great dynamic. This is the second victory of the season after that of Christophe Laporte at the Étoile de Bessèges. Cofidis is thus the only French team to have two successes at the start of the 2021 season.
Elia VIVIANI: “Victory is finally coming! I am really very happy with this. A day like today should be a normal day for me and for the team. I want to continue to regain my level and fight to win other races. The team did a very good job of getting me to the sprint perfectly. Emmanuel (Morin) and 'Saba' (Sabatini) got involved very well at the end. And I'm happy to have had a good sprint afterwards. From now on, I hope to keep this confidence for the next events and continue with the same motivation. I thank the whole team: like me, everyone has waited a long time for it. From now on, we will do everything to keep this good dynamic."
Cédric VASSEUR: "I am very happy for Elia and for the whole Cofidis team. All of our runners had exemplary behavior. We had only one goal: to win at Cholet with Elia Viviani. And everyone responded. We saw fantastic work throughout the race and the team got the situation under control. Emmanuel Morin then Fabio Sabatini served as a launching pad for Elia and on the line, there was no photo. We found Elia Viviani victorious after a good start to the season. This victory is essential in order to have a surplus of confidence and I am sure it is the start of a long streak."
Complete Results:
201.8 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.696 km/hr
| 1 | Elia Viviani | Cofidis | 4hr 43min 35sec |
| 2 | Jon Aberasturi | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 3 | Pierre Barbier | Delko | s.t. |
| 4 | Dorian Godon | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 5 | Marc Sarreau | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 6 | Alex Vogel | Swiss Racing Academy | s.t. |
| 7 | Matthew Bostock | Canyon DHB Sungod | s.t. |
| 8 | Thomas Boudat | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 9 | Romain Cardis | St Michel-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 10 | Matteo Malucelli | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 11 | Maurits Lammertink | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 12 | Pier-Andre Cote | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
| 13 | Niccolo Bonifazio | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 14 | Stanislaw Aniolkowski | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 15 | Jason Tesson | St Michel-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 16 | Jesus Ezquerra | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 17 | Dylan Kowalski | Xelliss-Roubaix-Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 18 | Tobias Kongstad | Riwal Cycling | s.t. |
| 19 | Jesper Hansen | Riwal Cycling | s.t. |
| 20 | Jérémy Leveau | Xelliss-Roubaix-Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 21 | Julien Simon | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 22 | Lawrence Naesen | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 23 | Mathias De Witte | Xelliss-Roubaix-Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 24 | Luca Mozzato | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 25 | Angel Fuentes | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 26 | Ziga Jerman | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 27 | Casper Van Uden | Team DSM Development | s.t. |
| 28 | Anthony Jullien | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 29 | Jake Stewart | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 30 | Georg Zimmermann | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 31 | Wesley Kreder | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 32 | Lukas Rüegg | Swiss Racing Academy | s.t. |
| 33 | Nicola Venchiarutti | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 34 | Maxime Urruty | Xelliss-Roubaix-Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 35 | Jens Reynders | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 36 | Nans Peters | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 37 | Thery Schir | Swiss Racing Academy | s.t. |
| 38 | Stephen Bassett | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
| 39 | Clement Berthet | Delko | s.t. |
| 40 | Pierre Rolland | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 41 | Jon Barrenetxea | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 42 | Fabio Sabatini | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 43 | Torstein Træen | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 44 | Luc Wirtgen | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 45 | Lucas Eriksson | Riwal Cycling | s.t. |
| 46 | Elmar Reinders | Riwal Cycling | @ 8sec |
| 47 | Biniam Girmay | Delko | s.t. |
| 48 | Winner Anacona | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 49 | Valentin Ferron | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 50 | Dimitri Peyskens | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 51 | Théo Delacroix | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 52 | Pierre-Luc Périchon | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 53 | Luca Chirico | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 54 | Aritz Bagües | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:10 |
| 55 | Leon Heinschke | Team DSM Development | s.t. |
| 56 | Julien Antomarchi | Xelliss-Roubaix-Lille Métropole | 0:12 |
| 57 | Cyril Barthe | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 58 | Simon Geschke | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 59 | Alexandre Geniez | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 60 | Lucas De Rossi | Delko | s.t. |
| 61 | Jon Irisarri | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:15 |
| 62 | Benoît Cosnefroy | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 63 | Cyrille Thiery | Swiss Racing Academy | s.t. |
| 64 | Evaldas Siskevicius | Delko | 0:16 |
| 65 | Emmanuel Morin | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 66 | Lewis Askey | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 67 | Kevin Reza | B&B Hotels | 0:20 |
| 68 | Mathijs Paasschens | Bingoal-WB | 0:31 |
| 69 | Rory Townsend | Canyon DHB Sungod | 0:50 |
| 70 | Sergio Martin | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 71 | Dayer Quintana | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 72 | Flavien Maurelet | St Michel-Auber 93 | 0:52 |
| 73 | Markus Pajur | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 74 | Romain Seigle | Groupama-FDJ | 1:16 |
| 75 | Aaron Verwilst | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 1:25 |
| 76 | Yoann Paillot | St Michel-Auber 93 | 1:38 |
| 77 | Jacob Scott | Canyon DHB Sungod | 1:57 |
| 78 | Juan Osorio | Burgos-BH | 2:14 |
| 79 | Isaac Cantón | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 80 | Martin Urianstad | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 81 | Rait Ärm | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 82 | Edwin Avila | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 83 | Jesper Schultz | Riwal Cycling | s.t. |
| 84 | Ludwig De Winter | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 85 | Lars Saugstad | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 86 | Jim Brown | Canyon DHB Sungod | s.t. |
| 87 | Boris Vallée | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 88 | Samuel Leroux | Xelliss-Roubaix-Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 89 | Adam De Vos | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
| 90 | Kenny De Ketele | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 91 | Jasper De Plus | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 92 | Leonardo Marchiori | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 93 | Eddy Finé | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 94 | Anthony Perez | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 95 | David González | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 96 | Clément Davy | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 97 | Tim Naberman | Team DSM Development | s.t. |
| 98 | Clément Carisey | Delko | s.t. |
| 99 | Lorrenzo Manzin | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 100 | Quentin Venner | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 101 | Paul Ourselin | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 102 | Pepijn Reinderink | Team DSM Development | s.t. |
| 103 | Marlon Gaillard | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 104 | Thibault Ferasse | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 105 | Anthony Maldonado | St Michel-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 106 | Tony Hurel | St Michel-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 107 | Søren Wærenskjold | Uno-X | 3:03 |
| 108 | Matteo Dal-Cin | Rally Cycling | 3:37 |
| 109 | Alexys Brunel | Groupama-FDJ | 3:38 |
| 110 | Jonathan Hivert | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 111 | Manuel Peñalver | Burgos-BH | 3:57 |
| 112 | Magnus Sheffield | Rally Cycling | 4:22 |
| 113 | Filippo Tagliani | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 114 | Alexis Gougeard | Ag2r-Citroën | 4:25 |
| 115 | Jonas Abrahamsen | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 116 | August Jensen | Delko | s.t. |
| 117 | Victor Lafay | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 118 | Reto Müller | Swiss Racing Academy | s.t. |
| 119 | Matthias Reutimann | Swiss Racing Academy | s.t. |
| 120 | Iver Skaarseth | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 121 | Robin Carpenter | Rally Cycling | 5:06 |
| 122 | Romain Hardy | Arkéa-Samsic | 6:02 |
| 123 | Rasmus Quaade | Riwal Cycling | s.t. |
| 124 | Kim Magnusson | Riwal Cycling | s.t. |
| 125 | Paul Penhoët | Groupama-FDJ | 6:32 |
| 126 | Mattia Viel | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 127 | Joel Nicolau | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | s.t. |
| 128 | Alex Molenaar | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 129 | Robert Scott | Canyon DHB Sungod | s.t. |
| 130 | Josu Etxeberria | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 8:34 |
| 131 | Kristian Kulset | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 132 | Enzo Leijnse | Team DSM Development | s.t. |
| 133 | Stuart Balfour | Swiss Racing Academy | s.t. |
| 134 | Sander De Pestel | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 135 | Maxime Chevalier | B&B Hotels | 9:19 |
| 136 | Morten Hulgaard | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 137 | Thibault Guernalec | Arkéa-Samsic | 9:27 |
| 138 | Reece Wood | Canyon DHB Sungod | 9:35 |
| 139 | Emerson Oronte | Rally Cycling | 10:57 |
| 140 | Damien Clayton | Canyon DHB Sungod | s.t. |
| 141 | Sasha Weemaes | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 14:32 |
| 142 | Tobias Andresen | Team DSM Development | 21:13 |
2021 Cholet-Pays de Loire map & profile:
2021 Cholet-Pays de Loire map & profile