Spring sensation Kubis gives Unibet Tietema Rockets their first win of the season in soaking wet Cholet Agglo Tour

Lukas Kubis won the Cholet-Agglo Tour. After a demanding, soaking-wet race, the Slovakian from Unibet Tietema Rockets was the best of a group of three. The national champion was too strong in the sprint for Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Niklas Larsen (BHS—PL Belton Bornholm). It was the French-Dutch team's first victory of the season, and they had already been seen at the front so many times in the spring.

The relatively flat test was made difficult in the final phase by a short local lap, which they had to complete no less than seven times in about 50 kilometers. It was a case of twisting and turning, but the weather also played a significant role on Sunday. As in Paris-Nice last week, it was very wet and cold in the west of France, so a sprint was not necessarily a certainty. Last year, Paul Lapeira won, who also kept the sprinters from their chance.

Six riders broke away from the start, but the primarily unknown riders never got a gap on the peloton, where Unibet Tietema Rockets, TotalEnergies, and Cofidis took charge of the chase. This meant that the race's halfway point had already reduced the lead. The breakaway riders made it to the local circuit, but the pace increased considerably. With 40 kilometers to go, everything was back together again.

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A lot of crashes in the soaking-wet race

Not all riders were still together; the dramatic weather had already caused several crashes. Quite a few fast men had already hit the asphalt: among the unlucky ones were Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Enrico Zanoncello (Bardiani). And as the race progressed, there were even more victims. Coquard was down again, as were Matthew Walls (Groupama-FDJ) and Lukas Kubis (Unibet Tietema Rockets). They were able to continue on their way, and what's more, the Slovakian champion set off not much later, together with Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis). Together, the two gained a slight lead with about 20 kilometers to go.

They were joined by Niklas Larsen of the continental BHS—PL Belton Bornholm team. He is relatively unknown on the road, but track racers know him as part of the Danish pursuit team that became world champions in 2023 and 2024. Behind them, however, it was war, and many riders took the risk of jumping forward with two laps to go. Five riders, including Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies), and Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ), took the risk.

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Exciting final stage in pouring rain

Matyas Kopecky (Novo Nordisk), Mirco Maestri (Polti VisitMalta), and Emmanuel Morin (Van Rysel Roubaix) were also present, but they could not close the gap. Labrosse and Gachignard did not want to continue, so the distance to the front three grew. A final attack by Labrosse came to nothing, so the leading group seemed to be battling for the win: the peloton also caught the chasers.

With a 20-second lead in the last 4 kilometers, the sprinters were seemingly too late. Thomas tried to break away, but Kubis countered relatively quickly. The peloton was suddenly unleashed, and the lead soon dwindled. The front runners had the advantage in the winding final kilometers. Larsen gave it one last shot in the final kilometer, but a sprint was unavoidable. Kubis was the first to go and beat his competitors with a powerful sprint.

Kubis: "I saw that the gap was so big that I could already start cheering"

Kubis was overjoyed with his first victory for the team. 'The weather was tough; it was cold and wet all day,' he said in the flash interview. "But as a team, we did very well. We rode at the front all day, chased down the breakaway, and were in the right place on the circuit. I did crash with 30 kilometers to go, but my teammates waited for me and brought me back to the peloton. Then I tried to get away, and I was with that Cofidis rider, and later another one joined us."

The teamwork with Larsen and Thomas was excellent, allowing us to stay ahead. "We worked very well together, and at the end, I heard over the radio that we had 10 seconds left. Then, I could focus on the sprint, starting at 300 meters, because I felt so strong. With 100 meters to go, I could see that the gap was already so big that I could start cheering." Winning in France is essential for the team's big dream: the Tour de France. "It is our dream, and of every cyclist, of course, because it is the biggest race in the world. We hope, and we dream big. We want to do everything for the Tour."

Results Cholet Agglo Tour 2025

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