Fabian Lienhard takes sixth in Antibes

Fabian Lienhard Clinches Sixth Place in Opening Stage of Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team Optimistic for Decisive Second Stage

Groupama-FDJ cycling team’s Fabian Lienhard secured a solid sixth place in the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes opening stage, despite a challenging race. Lenny Martinez’s victory in the Classic Var set the stage for Sunday’s 165 kilometers race, featuring a hilly profile and a flurry of attacks.

“The race seemed quite open towards Antibes on Saturday, for the opening stage of the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes. Yet, although a few moves livened up the final, including an attack from Romain Grégoire, the bunch sprint couldn’t be avoided,” with Ethan Vernon seizing the victory while Lienhard managed to earn sixth place, setting the stage for the decisive general classification in Vence.

In light of the challenging race, Benoît Vaugrenard remarked, “The balance is not great this evening, let’s be honest. The race will be decided by seconds, and we have not collected any bonuses. It’s a mixed day and we hope to do much better tomorrow.”

Romain Grégoire commented on his move during the race, stating, “Initially, I was there to be positioned, to control the attacks, but when Costiou asked for a turn, I thought ‘there are 500 meters of climbing left, let’s go full gas and we’ll see at the top.’ I found myself with Romain Bardet, so we gave it a try, but the peloton was still quite big and controlled straight away, so there was no point in keeping going.”

Amidst the intense competition, Lienhard reflected on his race performance, noting, “We were going for Romain, but he lost my wheel and he had attacked before. I was there, so I did my sprint. A top-10 is always good. When you work all the time for your leaders, it’s nice to get that feeling of being at the front.”

With high hopes for the decisive second stage, Vaugrenard expressed, “The balance is not great this evening, let’s be honest. The race will be decided by seconds, and we have not collected any bonuses. It’s a mixed day and we hope to do much better tomorrow.” Meanwhile, Romain emphasized the team’s focus on the upcoming stage, stating, “We didn’t get a result today, but we already have our eyes on tomorrow’s stage.”