Ayuso wins an impressive sprint of favorites at the Faun Ardèche Classic in the shadow of the Omloop

Juan Ayuso has claimed victory at the Faun-Ardèche Classic. In the shadow of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Spaniard was the strongest in a sprint of four. Romain Grégoire secured the second place, followed by Mattias Skjelmose and Felix Gall.

The Faun-Ardèche Classic served as the French counterpart to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The one-day race kicked off the French spring season and managed to attract a strong field of participants despite coinciding with the Omloop: Van Gils, Bardet, Paret-Peintre, Woods, Williams, Arrieta, Magnier, Gall, Grégoire, Skjelmose, and Ayuso. The presence of many Ardennes specialists hinted at the nature of the course.

The Frenchmen Antoine Hue and Melvin Crommelinck, and the Norwegian Fredrik Dversnes made up the breakaway of the day but would not play a significant role in the finale. The Val d'Enfer (1.5 kilometers at 10.4 percent) was to act as the decisive factor with its three passages, and it did just that.

Lidl-Trek gradually thinned out the large group on the rolling course in support of Skjelmose until only a few riders could keep up. The Danish champion then attacked, with only Ayuso, Gregoire, and Gall able to follow in his wheel. The Austrian struggled to keep pace with his fellow escapees but managed to hang on and kept the chasers including Van Gils, Paret-Peintre, and Paul Magnier at bay.

On the final ascent of Val d'Enfer, it was Skjelmose who struggled, but the quartet stayed together until the finish line. In the sprint, Ayuso launched from distance and it seemed Gregoire might overtake him, but the Spaniard held on. Skjelmose completed the podium, with Gall in fourth place. Van Gils won the sprint from the chasing group.