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Matteo Jorgenson bows to young Frenchman again in Faun Drôme Classic

Matteo Jorgenson bows to young Frenchman again in Faun Drôme Classic

Romain Grégoire has won the Faun Drôme Classic. The Frenchman from Groupama FDJ-United outpaced Matteo Jorgenson in a two-up sprint. Lenny Martinez finished shortly after in third, with Quinten Hermans coming in fourth.

While all eyes in Flanders were on Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the Faun Drôme Classic was on the calendar in France on Sunday. Among those present in the challenging hilly classic were Matteo Jorgenson, Ben Healy, and Mattias Skjelmose. Paul Seixas, who had dominated the Faun-Ardèche Classic the day before, was absent.

There were plenty of opportunities for the better climbers to make a difference. The finale was shaped by the climbs of Col du Devès (4.2 km at 4.5%), Col de la Grande Limite (3.9 km at 6.6%), Côte des Roberts (1.6 km at 8%), Côte de Grane (1.7 km at 5.5%), Mur d’Allex (0.7 km at 6%), and Plateau de Soulier (0.5 km at 5.2%).

The breakaway of the day consisted of seven riders, including a Dutchman and a Belgian: Sjoerd Bax (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Kenny Molly (Van Rysel-Roubaix). The other five attackers were Valentin Retailleau (TotalEnergies), Javier Ibáñez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Arnaud Tendon (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Jonas Walton (CIC Academy), and Tom Mainguenaud (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur).

Skjelmose cracks the finale open
The escapees were gradually reeled in one by one on the Col de la Grande Limite. At this point, around forty kilometers from the finish, Lidl-Trek pushed the pace in the peloton, after Visma | Lease a Bike had already ramped up the tempo. Then we saw an attack from Mattias Skjelmose. The Dane was joined by two more riders: Ben Tulett and Lenny Martinez.

The leaders never really got much space and at some point saw Martinez drop back. With 27 kilometers to go — now on the Côte des Roberts — the front riders of the peloton caught up with Skjelmose and Tulett. A group of twelve riders formed, including Visma teammates Tulett, Matteo Jorgenson, and Davide Piganzoli. The latter briefly pushed ahead of the rest.

Jorgenson versus Grégoire
When the Italian was caught, his teammate Jorgenson launched his attack. The American escaped together with Romain Grégoire. From the peloton, several riders tried to bridge across, including Benoît Cosnefroy and Tulett. However, Tulett crashed and Cosnefroy, after an impressive acceleration, also slowed down. While the Frenchman from UAE Emirates fell into the chase group, Jorgenson and Grégoire went together into the final kilometer. They held a fifteen-second advantage.

That should have been enough, if it weren’t for multiple teams collaborating in the chase and the leaders starting to watch each other. It became a nail-biter. But ultimately, Jorgenson and Grégoire stayed ahead. In the tough final kilometer, the Frenchman showed the best finishing sprint. The 23-year-old crossed the line a few lengths ahead of Jorgenson to claim his first victory of the season.

Jorgenson had to settle for second after his fourth place on Saturday — when he encountered an impressive Paul Seixas — while Lenny Martinez sprinted to third place, two seconds behind Jorgenson.