A demanding and exciting Tour of Flanders

One of the biggest sporting events in Belgium, the Tour of Flanders, took place this Sunday. Team Mayenne Monbana My Pie was on the start line with the ambition of showcasing its jersey. Mission accomplished thanks to Allison Mrugal’s breakaway and the efforts of her teammates throughout the race.

The start of the Tour of Flanders promised to be lively, as several teams were eager to make it into the day’s breakaway. That proved to be the case, but the Mayenne Monbana My Pie riders were attentive and proactive at the right moment. It was American rider Allison Mrugal who spent part of the race at the front. The gap grew to as much as six minutes before she was dropped on a cobbled sector. Behind her, Fiona Mangan, Natalie Quinn, Constance Valentin, Léa Rondel and Justine Gegu had to follow the right wheels in hopes of securing a result at the finish. Nervous racing and crashes decided otherwise, taking some of them out of contention—fortunately without serious injury. Fiona and Léa eventually made it to the finish after a hard effort.

Fiona Mangan, 49th. "I think I’m learning step by step with every race. I made a small mistake on the Koppenberg—I was a bit out of position—so I lost my place in the front group. But it was really great to have Allison in the breakaway; that was our goal for the day. The crowd, the atmosphere—it was huge. I could smell beer and thought, ‘okay, this is a proper party."

Allison Mrugal, breakaway. "I just followed the early attacks and we got the message on the radio that it was a good moment to go. When I saw Natalie being brought back and the peloton was a bit stretched, I counter-attacked and went clear with three riders, then two more bridged across. We stayed away for about half the race. There was wind and I wasn’t having my best day—I didn’t have great legs—but I’m really happy to have represented the team in the break and to have tried to help Fiona and Léa for the finale. The atmosphere was incredible—it’s the Tour of Flanders, it’s pretty crazy. I’m really grateful to be here and I love this team".

Franck Renimel, sport director. "The first thing to point out is that we achieved our objective of getting into the breakaway. We knew it would take time and that the opening kilometers wouldn’t be ideal. We were there at the right moment, and I’m really pleased Allison made it into the move. There were four riders counter-attacking—I think they should have regrouped and worked together. The gap to the peloton was large enough to allow them to wait. With eight riders, it would have been much better. Allison put in a lot of effort; I’ll need to discuss it with her, but she might have managed things differently. After the Molenberg, the first key point of the race, Fiona, Allison, Natalie and Léa were still in front. That was really good, as only about fifty riders remained in the peloton. In the end, the feeling is positive—we did what we set out to do. We knew we wouldn’t be able to compete directly with the top champions and that we needed to get ahead of the race. We did that. The riders learned a lot. Of course, it’s disappointing that Justine and Natalie crashed and were delayed. What we can see is that our riders are capable of making breakaways—they’re not afraid to go for it, they know how to stay alert, and that’s a very good thing."

Results :

49 - Fiona Mangan

53 - Léa Rondel

Photo credit : Arnaud Guillaume / Mayenne Monbana My Pie