Published on : 04/09/2026
On the queen stage of this Région Pays de la Loire Tour, the team delivered a strong collective performance. Aggressive from start to finish, our riders made their mark on the race and Benjamin Thomas was in contention for the stage win in the final.
199 kilometres between Avrillé and Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes, a gruelling terrain with short, repeated climbs through the Coëvrons, then a final circuit ridden twice, perfect for puncheurs. In the final lap, a breakaway of six riders formed with Benjamin Thomas in the mix. With 4 km to go, the group had 30 seconds of advantage. In the sprint, he takes 4th place and moves up to 8th overall. Bryan Coquard also picked up bonus seconds that keep our options alive for the general classification.
Sports director Benjamin Giraud:
"Third stage of the Région Tour, the first fairly difficult one of this race. Today, we had a great attacking race from the team. A very offensive team, present in every move throughout the day. We managed to contest the stage win with Benjamin Thomas in a group of six riders. He finishes fourth, but today there is a lot of satisfaction, also with the bonus seconds from Bryan Coquard, which gives us a real option for the general classification tomorrow."