22 May 2024

Not just the Giro: the “Hungary sextet” flies to France for the Boucles de la Mayenne

Boucles de la Mayenne (2.PRO)

23th - 26th May

For the second time during this Giro d’Italia, Team Polti Kometa splits. The same six riders who competed in Hungary will be racing in north-western France from tomorrow to Sunday for the Boucles de la Mayenne: the fast wheels of Manuel Peñalver, David Martín and Javier Serrano, the climber Alex Martìn, and the versatile Erik Fetter and Diego Sevilla.

For the first time a Fundación Contador squad participates in this short stage race in the Loire region, which starts with a Thursday evening prologue in the city of Laval and then unfolds through three mostly flat racedays. The most challenging is the Saturday’s central stage: over two hundred kilometers around Villaines La Juhel, with the côte des Égoutelles (2.3 km at 6%) to be tackled six times before the finish.

“I think the GC could be defined already in the initial 5500 meters of time trial,” states sports director Giovanni Ellena, “where we aim to do our best especially with Fetter. For the rest, we’ll try to finalize with Peñalver in the bunch sprints and with Martín or Serrano in the reduced ones. The Boucles de la Mayenne has become established on the ProSeries calendar, with 8 WorldTeams participating, and we can count on a sextet that has shown great teamwork in Hungary.”

Sevilla, one of the symbolic figures of Polti Kometa, shares his outlook on this event from both his and his teammates’ perspectives: “I expect the typical French race, fun and hard to control with quite narrow roads. And I expect bunch sprints on Friday and Sunday, perfect for Manuel. Personally I hope to provide significant support and have the best legs in Saturday’s stage, also to secure a good overall placement.”