Faun-Ardèche Classic

Chaotic finish in Ardèche

Our first of the weekend’s two one-day races scheduled in France, the Ardèche Classic took place around the town of Guilherand-Granges, over a 165.9km course featuring more than ten climbs, the last of which came in the final kilometers.

The race exploded on the Mur de Cornas, which came just before the longest ascent of the day, as soon as the breakaway was caught. A strong group took off and put some significant daylight between them and the chasers, but things came together before the top of Saint-Romain-de-Lerps. Two other men soon rode away, chased by a group featuring Ilan Van Wilder, who managed to come back on the slopes of Val d’Enfer.

Numbering twelve riders, the newly-formed leading group looked poised to fight for victory, but some of those at the front – including Ilan – took a wrong turn and the moment they tried to correct that, a crash took place, fortunately without any serious consequences for the Belgian. In the end, Valentin Paret-Peintre was the best placed member of Soudal Quick-Step, around one minute behind countryman Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ), who took the win.

Photo credit: ©Billy Ceusters / Getty Images