This past weekend was a successful one for the French team as they competed in races in France and the Netherlands. Christophe Laporte secured a victory in the Paris-Chauny race, fending off teammate Wout van Aert. Team TotalEnergies riders Anthony Turgis and Sandy Dujardin also performed well, with Dujardin overcoming a mechanical issue to finish strongly.
Sandy Dujardin expressed his satisfaction with the race, saying, “I’m really happy with the race because I was in good shape physically, and also with the result for my team-mates; I think I did a good job. Bad luck happens. The most important thing is that Christophe was able to win, that takes away a lot of the frustration.”
However, not all news from the weekend was positive as Mathieu Burgaudeau suffered a fractured collarbone during a training session. This injury means that Burgaudeau will be out for the remainder of the season, impacting his participation in upcoming races.
Team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau expressed his disappointment, saying, “It’s unfortunate for Mathieu, who finished 2nd in Plouay, heralding a promising end to the season with the Tour de Vendée where he was considered an outsider. We’ll have to make do without him and focus on the remaining ten or so days of racing.”
Despite the setback, there was a silver lining with Jason Tesson’s strong performance in the Paris-Chauny race. Tesson secured a second-place finish, narrowly behind the race winner and current world’s best sprinter, Jasper Philipsen. Tesson reflected on the race, saying, “It confirms my good form at the end of the season, I’ve got two races left and I’m really motivated to go and get a win before the break.”
Team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau praised Tesson’s efforts, stating, “We’ll have to remember Jason’s very fine sprint, which earned him 2nd place in Chauny among the world’s top sprinters. He was only beaten by one man: the Tour’s green jersey. A great performance.”
As the season nears its end, the French riders continue to show their strength and determination on the road. The team will now shift their focus to the remaining races and look for further success as they close out the season.
