Strong Arnaud Démare. Very, strong. The Groupama-FDJ rider, awaited by the whole peloton, won his third French champion title on Sunday (after 2014 and 2017) by winning at Grand-Champ, in Morbihan, after a lively race of nearly 240 km.
The sprinter has perfectly assumed his status as favorite. Victorious over Milan-Turin and the Tour de Wallonie in August, he took advantage of the hard work of his team, who remotely controlled the morning breakaway (with Pierre Latour and Romain Bardet) and the counter-attack that followed. And in the last kilometers, he took care of the rest.
Alaphilippe countered
Démare managed to get Julian Alaphilippe on two occasions when the former wearer of the Tour's yellow jersey engaged in the two ramps provided for in the final. Returning two terminals from the line with Bryan Coquard, he settled his two opponents in the sprint. With this third tricolor jersey, Démare is getting closer to Jean Stablinski's record, four times titled between 1960 and 1964.
The 28-year-old rider will not have the opportunity to show his jersey on the roads of the Tour de France. Not retained in his team organized around Thibaut Pinot, he will try to show himself a little later on the Giro, from October 3 to 25.
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