The 68th edition of Circuit of the Sarthe – Pays de la Loire delivered its verdict on Friday! At the end of a fourth and final stage marked by heavy gusts, but above all by a big fall in the last kilometers, Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) won this Friday. Already winner of a stage, two days ago, the young Dutch rider beat Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Fenix) in a small group sprint. Elia Viviani (INEOS Grenadiers) took 3rd place several seconds behind the leading duo. Leader of the general classification, Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) was caught in the fall. He was forced to give up. Stage winner, Kooij thus wins the overall and succeeds Alexis Gougeardwinner of the last edition in 2019.
Video – The last for Olav Kooij, Mads Pedersen loses the entire general!
Nine riders in the breakaway, the peloton controls
En due to storm Diego [le département de la Sarthe est placé en vigilance jaune pour vent violent et pluies inondations]the fourth and final stage of the Circuit of the Sarthe – Pays de la Loire, around La Chapelle-Saint-Aubin, was shortened by 43 kilometers – or 136 kilometers in total – by the organizers. This did not prevent the attacks at the start of the day. Several riders tried to slip into the last breakaway of the French event, including Clement Carisey (Go Sport – Roubaix Lille Métropole) and Valentin Ferron (Team TotalEnergies).
The group of nine riders had a lead of more than a minute at the halfway point. Behind, several formations – including Trek-Segafredo of Mads Pedersen, leader of the event for three stages – were trying to control the gap with the leading men, despite strong gusts. And in addition to the wind, the rain also appeared during this last day. Dantesque conditions. The breakaways crossed the line for the first time final circuit, a 9.3 kilometer loop to be completed 4 times, with a stabilized lead of around one minute.
First passage on the line, there are four laps of the circuit. Our riders are in the peloton. After multiple attacks, nine riders have a lead of 1’10.#CircuitSarthe 📷Getty Images pic.twitter.com/Ohqw3CwF1I
— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) April 8, 2022
Big fall in the final, Olav Kooij realizes the big blow!
The gap fell for the first time under a minute as we approached the second crossing of the finish line. In the frontthe breakaway began to disorganize and some riders tried to set off alone, while others were knocked out, including Lars Boven (Jumbo-Visma). The peloton continued to close in on the front men. He was 36 seconds behind on the third pass at La Chapelle-Saint-Aubin, then 24 seconds a few minutes later before retaking the leading group in the last ten kilometers.
As in the two previous stages, everything was going to end with a massive sprint. We thus found the same formations at the front of the peloton, including Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl for her fast man Mark Cavendish. Buton the road, made slippery by the showers, caused two numerous falls. Two men took advantage of these incidents to escape: Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Fenix) and Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma). In the end, it was the young Dutch sprinter who won ahead of the Belgian. Leader of the general classification, Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) was caught in the final fall. He was forced to give up. Stage winner, Kooij thus wins the overall and succeeds Alexis Gougeard.
And another victory for the Dutchman @KooijOlav @JumboVismaRoad #CircuitSarthe pic.twitter.com/M6ktnm804F
— Sweet FM (@SweetFmRadio) April 8, 2022
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