Sarrou delivers Team BMC’s first victory of the season
Jordan Sarrou has won the first race in the Coupe de France. The former world champion attacked in the third lap and dropped his competitors one by one, ultimately coming across the finish line solo.
29 seconds behind Sarrou, Titouan Carod crossed the finish line in fourth, resulting in two riders from Team BMC in the top-5 in Marseille.
At the beginning of the race, Sarrou saved energy by following the riders in the first group. Halfway into the race, he decided to put some pressure on them. “I saved some energy in the beginning, so I could attack them in the third lap.”
He took the imitative in the race, resulting in a significantly reduced leading group, consisting of five riders, with two laps to go. Three of them could not keep up with Sarrou’s consistent riding on the technical parcours in Marseille. He then pushed on in the last lap, to also drop Samuel Gaze from Alpecin-Deceuninck.
“I started to feel progressively comfortable with the BMC Fourstroke on the technical sections and I think that made the difference today. Every lap I felt like I could get through the technical sections with more speed until I finally dropped Gaze.”
“My form is growing every week”, Sarrou continued. “I felt stronger after every race I have done so far this season. Today’s victory makes it a good start of the season for me and is proof that we are on the right track. The team is ready for the World Cups. I am very happy with the win today.”
Team BMC in Tamaro
The other three riders from Team BMC raced in Tamaro (Italy). Juri Zanotti just missed out on a medal: fourth. The Italian was satisfied after his performance.
“The race in Tamaro is special to me, because it is so close to my home. There were many friends and fans at the course, and also my family came to watch. I am happy that I could finish fourth in front of their eyes”, Zanotti said.
Team BMC’s young talent Janis Baumann finished 19th, and sixth in the under-23 classification. Stefi Häberlinn came across the line in 12th position in the women’s race.
Team BMC’s next race will be in Elba at the second weekend of April.
