Last rider to drop, Grégoire praises Van der Poel: “In big races, you can see in his eyes that he just wants to win”

When Tadej Pogacar launched his attack on the Cipressa, there were initially three riders who could follow. Two of them—Mathieu van der Poel and Filippo Ganna—managed to hold on all the way to the finish. But the third, Romain Grégoire, couldn’t survive the Cipressa in the slipstream of the three stars and ultimately paid for his effort, finishing in a disappointing 30th place. The Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ has now shared his story on the team website.

“The plan was to get Romain into the best possible position on the Cipressa, and the team did that very well,” said team director Philippe Mauduit. “The whole team did a great job throughout the race, and I’m very proud of that. It was great to see how they positioned Romain so well at the front of the climb, putting him in a good spot right away.”

Grégoire also praised his teammates’ performance: “They did their job really well, and I was in the right place at the right time. I wasn’t sure if Tadej would attack on the Cipressa, but I did know the pace would be extremely high throughout the climb. So it was important to be near the front, since we expected the peloton would stretch into a long line.”

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Grégoire already claimed victory in France earlier this year

Grégoire sees Van der Poel do magical things

With three kilometers to go, the Slovenian finally made his move—and the Frenchman was able to respond. “The moment the attack came, I didn’t think twice about going with it. Unfortunately, my legs couldn’t handle the pace. They say, ‘If you fly too close to the sun, you get burned,’ and I can definitely say that happened to me today.”

Still, Grégoire has no regrets about trying to follow the big three, and afterward he had nothing but praise for the winner, Van der Poel, who once again did incredible things in his eyes. “His physical abilities are absolutely unreal, but beyond that, he’s also incredibly strong mentally. You can just see the motivation in his eyes to win big races.”

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Grégoire praises Mathieu van der Poel

Grégoire has no regrets about trying to follow the top three

Grégoire, who just a few weeks ago won the Faun-Ardèche Classic, doesn’t regret trying to stay with the three favorites. “I definitely don’t regret trying to follow the three best riders in the race. My legs felt really good today, so it would’ve been a shame not to try.”

The Frenchman ultimately finished 30th—a result that still feels like a major disappointment. “Once again, it’s incredibly disappointing not to be able to compete for a strong result. I felt so good, and then to cross the line in 30th place—it doesn’t feel good. I didn’t get what I deserved today,” the talented rider concluded.

Read also

Gilbert doesn't spare Vingegaard: "He tried to hide behind others, as always"

Ganna gains nothing from seemingly impossible performance: “Only Van der Poel will be remembered”

Van der Poel explains emotions after a few “horrible hours” and discusses Pogacar’s mind games on the Poggio and in the sprint

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