“La Conti” on the back foot at the Alpes Isère Tour

# “La Conti” Faces Challenges in Alpes Isère Tour

The Alpes Isère Tour has presented significant hurdles for “La Conti” Groupama-FDJ United in its early stages. Although Victor Loulergue had positioned himself well in the general standings heading into stage three, his prospects for a strong finish took a hit on Friday due to the rigorous demands of a challenging hilly stage.

The race commenced on Wednesday in Charvieu-Chavagneux, a tradition that has seen breakaways triumph over the peloton in previous years, and 2023 was no different. After 135 kilometres, four riders managed to outpace the main pack, finishing eleven seconds ahead. Jérôme Gannat, a team representative, noted, “It looked like quite a straightforward stage on paper, but the first day of racing is always tricky here.” Despite efforts from Maximilian and Reef, they couldn’t position themselves for the decisive break, which included one of the race favorites, Matisse Van Kerckhove. Loulergue’s achievements, including three bonus seconds, kept him in sixth overall.

The dynamics shifted on Thursday when a breakaway formed early, leading a peloton of approximately sixty riders to the base of the final climb. “There was then a big acceleration on the climb,” Gannat explained. Victor found himself in a second group but struggled to contest the resulting sprint, ultimately placing eighth overall by the time the day concluded.

Heading into the hilly third stage toward Corbas on Friday, the pressure intensified. Gannat detailed, “There was a huge fight to get into the breakaway,” which saw a group of about fifteen riders gain an early lead. Despite successfully bridging into this group after a strenuous effort, Loulergue soon reported that he “wasn’t feeling great.” Though he managed to secure one bonus second during an intermediate sprint, it wasn’t enough; he ultimately fell away on the last climb, leaving Esteban Foucher to secure a thirteenth-place finish. “We lost all our hopes for the general classification,” Gannat admitted.

With the weekend still ahead, “La Conti” is searching for new objectives. “Saturday is hilly but not brutal,” Gannat noted. “Sunday will be a big challenge with 4,000 metres of climbing.” The team aims to regroup, particularly focusing on rider performance for the final stages. “We hope things will go better over the next two days and that the boys will be able to show themselves,” Gannat concluded, signaling their commitment to aggressive racing despite the setbacks.