FDJ neo-pro Marc Sarreau entered the world of successful sprinters on Thursday as he claimed his first professional victory on stage 3 of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes ahead of MTN-Qhubeka’s Tyler Farrar.
At the stage finish in Loudun, the home of Theophraste Renaudot, who was considered the father of journalism after he founded “La Gazette” in May 1631, Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo) took over from Arnaud Gérard (Bretagne-Séché Environnement) in the lead of the general classification thanks to a time bonus collected on the road.
“I’ve been looking for this first win since the beginning of the year so it’s a relief to finally get it," declared the 22-year-old Sarreau.
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“I was frustrated to not have made the front group yesterday. It was my entire fault. Thanks to my team, I was well positioned for the sprint. To beat a big name like Farrar adds value to my victory in the eye of the public. In professional cycling, there isn’t any small victory. I knew this was probably my only chance to win a stage at the Tour du Poitou-Charentes. I felt under pressure to perform.”
The sprint was led out by Etixx-Quick Step. Following his first win of the year on stage 2, Matteo Trentin was hungry for more but he had a flat tyre in the last kilometre. “Then the team decided to do the sprint for me”, said Julian Alaphilippe who finished fifth. “I took the last curve in first position but unfortunately, I didn’t have the legs to finish it off. However, I’m happy for Marc [Sarreau] who is my long time friend and we are in a good situation with Tony Martin before the time trial.”
FDJ’s road captain Jérémy Roy, who won an amateur race on the same finishing line in Loudun fourteen years ago, explained how things played out, with lone breakaway rider Edvaldas Siskevicius of Marseille 13-KTM reined in within 10km to go.
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