A double top-10 and a collective reward

# Groupama-FDJ Celebrates Success at Tour de Vendée On the Road to the 2025 FDJ French Cup

Despite not claiming the top spot in the Tour de Vendée, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team enjoyed a rewarding day on Saturday, marking a significant milestone in the 2025 FDJ French Cup. With Matt Walls finishing 6th and Cyril Barthe in 7th at the race in Dompierre-sur-Yon, the French team secured the first place in the overall team classification for the cup. Additionally, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet’s performance earned him third place in the individual ranking.

Returning to the cycling calendar after a one-year hiatus, the Tour de Vendée wrapped up this year’s FDJ French Cup, featuring over 200 kilometers of demanding terrain that still catered to sprinters. As expected, a five-man breakaway formed early on but was swiftly controlled by the peloton, ultimately reaching a maximum lead of five minutes before being reined in during the latter half of the race. “It was a rather special day because we had to secure our first place in the French Cup team classification,” stated Thierry Bricaud, the team director.

While the team’s ambition was to secure victory in the race, Bricaud acknowledged they were not the favorites. “We obviously had the ambition to win, but we knew it could come down to a sprint,” he added. “So we rode a bit differently than usual… the risk, by relying on only one man, was not to be in the results at all, which has often happened to us.”

In the final hour of the race, as the gap between the breakaway and the peloton diminished, attacks were made but posed no serious threat to the pack. Groupama-FDJ made its move in the last ten kilometers, led by Rémi Cavagna, who momentarily broke away before playing a key role in positioning the team for the sprint finish. “We wanted to have a good approach to the sprint, but the finish was a bit tricky,” Thierry noted.

Unfortunately, in the last kilometer, Cyril found himself overextending, which limited his energy for a final push. “Cyril was ideally positioned… but he made a bit too much effort before the finish,” Thierry explained. Both Walls and Barthe had the freedom to sprint, yielding positive results, with Walls managing to finish sixth, just ahead of Barthe. “We were beaten by stronger riders; there’s not much to say,” Thierry concluded. “In any case, winning wasn’t possible, so there are no regrets. On the contrary, the good news is that we won the FDJ French Cup team classification.”