Trofeo Alcudia - Matîs Louvel 5th
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The second round of the Challenge Mallorca, the Troféo Alcudia, ended with a sprint in small group, Matîs Louvel took the 5th place.
On the line
“There was a lot of fighting at the beginning of the race with waves of riders trying to get out, the big teams didn’t want to take over the race and ride behind a breakaway, so everyone wanted to be represented in front. There was a big crash in the peloton, that calmed everyone down a bit, and then four riders went away. That was a big part of the race and we all knew that the last climb was going to be done quickly in order to avoid as many sprinters as possible. We were all well placed at the foot of the coll del Feminia. The beginning of the climb was made on a false rhythm and then it accelerated and caused the loss of many sprinters. I was designated to do the sprint, and the guys were at my service. Miguel put us in a good position before entering the finish, then it was Romain who took the “handle”, then Kévin Vauquelin made a big last effort to get me back into the first positions of the peloton with about 700 meters to go. He put me in the first three, unfortunately being on the inside I was forced to brake slightly, but I was nevertheless well placed. I couldn’t find the opening to overtake the others, I was a little bit too hard. I am in my place”.
The DS debrief
“This second round of the Challenge Mallorca was very fast, with an average speed of 42 km/h per hour.
A four-man breakaway was formed very quickly and was caught again only with about 30 km to go. The last climb of the day on this Trofeo Alcúdia, the Coll de Feminia, was covered very quickly and the peloton was considerably slimmed down. The victory was decided in a small sprint and Matîs Louvel took the fifth place in this tough final package. Our five riders all finished in the first peloton”.