Paris-Troyes took the peloton and our Development riders over 182km from Colombey-les-Deux-Églises to Troyes, with a hilly first half gradually giving way to flatter roads in the second part of the race. The final climb, positioned 19 kilometers from the finish, set the tone for a tense and tactical finale.
Our Development squad was active throughout the day. Vincent Bodet represented the team in a 10-man breakaway, but that move was caught with 21km remaining, immediately sparking a new 4-man attack heading into the final climb. The 4 riders held a slim 10″ gap over the chasing peloton, which included several of our riders pushing the pace. A late solo move by Nortoft looked promising, but the peloton timed its jump perfectly and came charging past in the final meters. In the resulting sprint, Sierre claimed the win, with Thom van der Werff finishing strongly in 4th place — a well-earned result after a committed team performance.
After the finish, Van der Werff said: “We rode attentively as a team throughout the entire race, with Vincent eventually making it into a promising breakaway. After the toughest climbs, the group was caught, and it all came down to a hectic sprint with a reduced bunch, where I just missed out on the podium. We showed a strong team performance, but unfortunately couldn’t reward it with a podium finish.”