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2022 La Roue Tourangelle (1.1), France

20th Edition: Sunday, March 27, 2022

La Roue Tourangelle podium history | 2021 edition | 2023 edition

Chateau Renault - Tours: 202 km

Speedster Nacer Bouhanni wins in Tours. Photo: LNC/B.Bade

James Witherell's book Bicycle History: A Chronological History of People, Races and Technology is available in both print and Kindle eBook formats. To get your copy just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Tours at 2:00 PM, local time: 19C (67F), sunny, with the wind from the northeast at 13 km/hr (8 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here is a machine translation of the race report from sixth-place Bram Welton's Groupama-FDJ team.

The Groupama-FDJ cycling team presented itself as the title holder on the Roue Tourangelle this Sunday. Unfortunately, she could not keep her crown in the finish city of Tours. Well launched by his teammates, Bram Welten tried to grab the victory in a reduced peloton sprint, but he finally had to settle for sixth place on the line, a few lengths behind winner Nacer Bouhanni.

In the absence of outgoing winner Arnaud Démare, in business at Ghent-Wevelgem, Groupama-FDJ lined up the Picard train around Bram Welten this Sunday on the Tourangelle route. But before a potential sprint in the streets of Tours, it is first a five-man breakaway made up of Nicolas Debeaumarché (St-Michel-Auber 93), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), Miguel Heidemann (B&B Hotels-KTM), Loris Trastour (Swiss Racing Academy) and Jordan Jegat (Team U Nantes Atlantique) who hosted part of the day.

“It was a fairly classic scenario,” summed up Thierry Bricaud. The leading men were up to four minutes ahead, but the peloton gradually closed in until they were only two minutes behind when the difficulties arose in the last hour of the race. “It was the same final as usual, with the last forty-five hilly kilometers and a lot of bumps that made the race much more difficult, added Thierry Bricaud. In the tradition of this race, we expected movement.”

There were indeed some through the seven bumps of the final, and Enzo Paleni, for the occasion promoted from Conti, had the opportunity to stand out. “We had the objective of accompanying the blows in the final in the event that a small group came out, which sometimes happens, added Thierry. But if Bram was still in the game at the top of the last bump, we took care of him for the sprint. What we did and what they did very well”.

The Batavian sprinter and his teammates were perfectly positioned at the foot of the Carmaux coast, the penultimate difficulty of the day, and were thus able to tackle the final climb in good spirits. A few attacks then occurred, six riders took the reins but Groupama-FDJ remained well united behind Bram Welten. “We wanted to have as many guys as possible after the bumps, and in the end, there were still four of us with Kono, Ramon and Jacopo', explained Bram. "Kono protected us from the wind all day and rode well to catch up with the riders who got away on the circuit”.

“I was optimistic, certified Thierry. We still had people to ride if needed, and other teams were not represented either. We took it on and it came together.” The junction took place two kilometers from the end and Ramon Sinkeldam then took control of the peloton in front of Jacopo Guarnieri and Bram Welten to put the train on the rails. The Dutchman held on for a long time and then left it to the Italian to provide the last effort. "I had the best train we could have," said Bram. I was happy to see that the sensations were coming back, to be there to do the sprint, but I did not yet have the speed necessary at the finish to finish the job. It's a shame, but I'm sure it will come."

If the young Dutchman started the sprint in a peloton of around thirty units, he could not however keep his rivals at bay, finally crossing the line in sixth position.

“Bram is still a little short because he has accumulated the small health issues, and he is not yet at 100%, indicated Thierry. In the state of mind, it was very good. They all did the right thing. Bram had been blaming himself for some time for not taking the initiative in the sprint, getting stuck when the sprint was launched, and he was frustrated about it. The idea today was for him to do his sprint, and when you have Ramon and Jacopo throwing you, you don't ask yourself any questions. He hasn't stopped, but the legs still don't respond as he would like.

"It's obviously frustrating because we think there was room, but I don't forget that he had abandoned Cholet after fifty kilometers last week because of allergies. Today, he was in the game to play for the win despite a difficult final. It's going in the right direction and that's what you have to remember. The same goes for Jacopo and Ramon. They weren't there in the final to take Arnaud down last year. This year yes. The guys are in on it, we just have to keep the wheel turning and we're going to get those wins."

Complete Results:

202 kilometers raced at an average speed of 43.433 km/hr

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