First win in three years for Guillaume Martin, who triumphs in Classic Grand Besancon Doubs

The Classic Grand Besançon Doubs is a French one day race held around the city of Besançon. Set in the rolling hills at the foot of the Alps, it always delivers proper racing. In recent years, the organizers have stuck to a familiar formula. The finish on Montfaucon, a short but brutally steep climb, consistently favors the pure climbers. Just ask Lenny Martinez, who took the win there last year.

The defending champion, little Frenchman Lenny Martinez, was not at the start to defend his title. But the likes of Guillaume Martin, Emanuel Buchmann and Cian Uijtdebroeks were present. The Visma Lease a Bike rider was back on course after his dramatic exit from Tirreno Adriatico and ready to go all in. His teammate Loe van Belle wasted no time either, jumping into the early break alongside Tom Portsmouth (Wagner Bazin WB) and Tillman Sarnowski (MYVELO). Sarnowski suffered a puncture but rejoined shortly after with fellow German Vinzent Dorn (BIKE Aid), making it four riders up the road early in the race.

At the halfway point, the breakaway was down to three as Sarnowski paid for his early efforts and dropped off the pace. The leaders still had around two and a half minutes on the bunch, but that gap began to fall as the final approached. The Montfaucon was tackled once more before the finish, and it was there that the time gap dropped sharply. Van Belle proved to be the strongest in the group, reaching the summit solo. On the descent, he was caught by Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies) and Louis Rouland (Arkéa B&B Hotels). Meanwhile, young Spaniard Jorge Gutiérrez (Equipo Kern Pharma) took a tumble, resulting in fun yet endearing images from the roadside.

Later on, the trio was joined by Johannes Kulset (Uno X Mobility) and Yohann Simon (St Michel Preference Home Auber93). It was a solid effort from the breakaway, especially with the peloton heavily reduced. There was little organization behind, and attacks kept flying. But as more riders made their way back into the bunch, the pace settled and the chase became more structured. Gradually, the gap began to close.

The breakaway was reeled in as the race approached the final climb. With 15 kilometers to go, it was Groupama FDJ taking charge at the front. Visma Lease a Bike also moved up, but it was TotalEnergies that set the pace at the foot of the brutal final test. The group immediately thinned out as the steep gradients began to bite. Matteo Vercher was the first to force a split, before Guillaume Martin took over. Jordan Jegat tried to hang on, but his countryman was simply too strong.

Martin, dancing on the pedals and never once sitting down, opened up a gap. His lead began to grow, even though he had attacked early. Clément Berthet (Decathlon AG2R) and José Manuel Diaz (Burgos Burpellet BH) gave chase and did everything they could to bring him back, but the Frenchman could not be caught. And with that, Guillaume Martin took his first victory in three years.