Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) showed that he is ready to lead France at the World Championships when he powered to a dominant victory in the uphill sprint at the Tour de Vendee. After a perfect lead-out from Geoffrey Soupe and Christophe Laporte, he easily held Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r) and Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) off to win the race for the second time. Second place was enough for Dumoulin to take overall victory in the Coupe de France.

Bouhanni: This win gives me confidence for the Worlds

“It’s obviously good for a sprinter to win races in a sprint a few weeks before a big objective. That allows me to gain confidence. I know the form is there, that’s essential. I’m obliged to think about the Worlds since it’s made for a sprinter, but I haven’t necessarily focused my season around it,” Nacer Bouhanni told L'Equipe. “I’m taking the races one by one, and I think I’ll really have my head at the Worlds after Paris-Tours.

“The coach has made his choices in good conscience and I’m not going to judge or criticize his decisions. He has built a group that he has confidence in, and I hope we’ll be able to prove him right on the road. I’m not worried about it because I’m certain that the team will work together perfectly.

“I think it’s a very good thing to have modified the route of Paris-Tours, to have extended the distance so as to gives us Worlds conditions. It is in any case a race that I’ve always loved. It corresponds to my profile and it has made me dream for a long time.”

Nervous Dumoulin proud to make history with third Coupe de France win

"I'm thrilled,” Samuel Dumoulin said. “I had a stressful week because there was a unique opportunity to enter the history of the Coupe de France PMU. This year, I was in terrific shape and today I really had great legs again. I could not really enjoy it because there was the stress of not making mistakes. The team and staff were great throughout the weekend to put me in the best conditions. In the sprint, I kept the wheel og Bouhanni. I was strong and I showed it.

”Noe I'm going to devote myself to the bakery I will open on Tuesday with my brother Jacob Bellecombette, near Chambéry.”

"This third win in the Coupe de France had become a dream for several weeks,” he added to L’Equipe. “I skipped the GP Isbergues by accepting to go to the European Championships in Plumelec with the French team, knowing that I deprived myself of a lot of points. With an advantage of only one point before the start of the final race, I was still in a good position but nothing could be taken for granted. 

“The condition was there but I admit that I did not have great feelings. I could open up. So I took the initiative to stay in the wheel of Nacer (Bouhanni) as he was logically the quickest of the bunch and best able to take me closer to the line. The tactic worked perfectly.

”Throughout the day, I was in my bubble, not lucid, not as usual. I was not able to relax and laugh on the bike as I often do. Finally, it is worth the stress because it is a third Coupe de France win. It is also a historical thing and I'm happy to do this as the first rider. 

”I'm proud of what I achieved. I was ready to stop cycling at the end of this season and realized that I am still able to do things like that. It's just something incredible. It's a beautiful life lesson that I offered this year. The adventure will continue and I am now convinced that this is the choice that is best for me.”

Sports director Stéphane Goubert added:

 
"This victory in the final classification of the Coupe de France PMU makes a nice end to the season. We made history because with the rule change this year, I think he will be the only one to have won three times a long time.

“The boys were keen to support him all day and the whole team was up to the task. Sure, there was some stress in the car because so many parameters can come into account during such a day. We are all happy for Sam and team AG2R La Mondiale. " 

By winning the Coupe de France PMU for the third time after 2012 and 2013, Samuel Dumoulin is the record winner in the series. With 348 points, he is also the record holder of the number of points. He took 4 victories during the season. 

Caja Rural and Barbero end season with optimism in Vendee

Caja Rural - Seguros RGA had a strong end to the 2016 season as Carlos Barbero sprinted to 8th place in Tour de Vendée, which was the last race for the team this year.
 
Despite multiple attacks on the final kilometers, amongst these one by Ángel Madrazo, the sprinters still got to have their say at the end of the French one-day race. The team helped putting Barbero in a good position near the front and the 25-year-old Spaniard did well to make Top10 as Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) took the win.
 
The rest of the Caja Rural - Seguros RGA riders also finished off the race in a good manner. With strong performances from Diego Rubio (13), Madrazo (18) and Jonathan Lastra (22), the team had no less than four riders in Top25.
 
Carlos Barbero said: 

“I was very well positioned before the last turn but I couldn’t do more than I did today. This last part of the season has been good for me with several races where I have been at the front, even though I didn’t get the victory I was searching for. In general, it has been a complicated season for me this year but I have to look at the bright side”.

Fortuneo-Vital Concept stagiaire on the attack in Vendee

Fortuneo-Vital Concept has stagiaire Elie Gesbert in the break. He was the final rider to be caught and was elected most combative of the day.

His teammates, meanwhile, tried to animate the race "but the lack of sprinter made it difficult," explains Yvon Caër, Sports Director. Jonathan Hivert sprinted to 9th.

This race also marks the end of the career of Jean-Marc Bideau. He has spent eight seasons with the team.

Elie Gesbert said:

"We got away with four and we quickly realized that the peloton would not let get much of an advantage. We knew that they did not want to catch us too early so we tried to play and save some energy. With 50 kilometers to go, I gave it a shot. Although I felt good in the end, I knew it was going to be almost impossible as I was all alone. I am good this late in the season. I prove to the team that they can count on me. It's always good to do that.”