The 68th edition of Circuit of the Sarthe – Pays de la Loire made a statement on Friday! At the end of a fourth and final stage characterized by strong gusts of wind, but above all by a sharp fall in the last kilometers, Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) won this Friday. Already winner of a stage, two days ago the young Dutch rider defeated Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Fenix) in a small group sprint. Elijah Vivianic (INEOS Grenadiers) took 3rd place a few 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 so wins the overall and passes Alexis Gougardwinner of the last edition in 2019.
Video – The last one for Olav Kooij, Mads Pedersen loses the whole general!
Nine riders in the break, the peloton controls
En because of storm Diego [le département de la Sarthe est placé en vigilance jaune pour vent violent et pluies inondations]the fourth and final phase of the Circuit of the Sarthe – Pays de la Loire† around La Chapelle-Saint-Aubin, was shortened by 43 kilometers – or a total of 136 kilometers – by the organizers. This could not prevent the attacks at the beginning of the day. Several riders tried to slip in the final break 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 well over a minute at the halfway point. Behind various formations – including Trek-Segafredo by Mads Pedersen, event leader for three stages – tried to control the gap with the leading men despite strong gusts of wind. And in addition to the wind, the rain came on this last day. Dantesque circumstances. 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 about a minute.
First pass on the line, there are four laps of the circuit. Our riders are in the peloton. After several attacks, nine riders have a lead of 1’10.#CircuitSarthe 📷Getty Images pic.twitter.com/Ohqw3CwF1I
— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) Apr 8, 2022
Big fall in final, Olav Kooij realizes the big blow!
The gap first fell under a minute as we approached the second intersection of the finish. In frontthe leading group started to disorganize and some riders tried to leave alone, while others were knocked out, including Lars Boven (Jumbo-Visma). The peloton continued to approach the leaders. He was 36 seconds behind on the third pass at La Chapelle-Saint-Aubin, and a few minutes later 24 seconds before taking over the leading group in the final ten kilometres.
As in the two previous stages, everything would end with a massive sprint. We found the same formations at the front of the pack, 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 for the Belgian. Leader of the general classification, Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) was caught in the final trap. He was forced to give up. stage winner, kooij so wins the overall and passes Alexis Gougard†
And another victory for the Dutchman @KooijOlav @JumboVismaRoad #CircuitSarthe pic.twitter.com/M6ktnm804F
— Sweet FM (@SweetFmRadio) Apr 8, 2022
