Omloop Nieuwsblad: Fighting Spirit for Mayenne Monbana My Pie

The Omloop Nieuwsblad opened the Classics season this Saturday. It was also Mayenne Monbana My Pie’s first WorldTour race of the season, facing the highest level of international competition. In rainy conditions that made an already demanding race even tougher, Allison Mrugal was the first rider from the French ProTeam to cross the line, finishing 61st.

The Belgian race, held between Ghent and Ninove, featured numerous cobbled sectors and short climbs known as “bergs,” right in the heart of Flanders. Rain and wind made the race even more challenging, causing crashes and various incidents. Fiona Mangan and Allison Mrugal were among those affected while riding in the main group. Against top-level opposition, Mayenne Monbana My Pie gave everything to achieve the best possible result. The team effort — positioning the strongest riders well before the key sectors — was particularly noteworthy. After a promising start to the season in Spain in late January and early February, this first Classic was an opportunity to measure themselves against the world’s best and gain valuable experience ahead of upcoming major races.

Damien Pommereau, Sports Director : “Fiona unfortunately suffered a mechanical problem at the worst possible moment, just before the Wolvenberg. She came back to within 20 seconds of the peloton but couldn’t make it back on. There were around 60 riders left in the peloton, including Allison. Unfortunately, she was caught up in the major crash before the Muur van Geraardsbergen. We’ll never know whether they could have achieved a better result without those incidents… We know this is a particularly tough and unique race. You always need a bit of luck — which we perhaps didn’t have with the riders who could have gone the furthest. You need positioning skills, race craft and the physical condition to be competitive here. That’s how it is. We’ll try to put in a strong performance tomorrow with a better result. The race will be more accessible, with a slightly lower level. First, we need to recover well from today’s effort.”

Allison Mrugal : “There was a lot of wind, which definitely made things harder. Fortunately, there were no serious crashes for us. I went down over a group of riders who were already on the ground — I hope they’re okay. I was feeling good and my bike wasn’t damaged, so I got back up and rejoined the race straight away, but it was too late. I finished in a small chasing group. That’s how it goes, but I’m still satisfied with the final result given the circumstances. The key takeaway is that it was a good team race — we tried to ride together. I think it was a solid opening weekend for the Classics. I wasn’t fully satisfied with my condition in Spain, and I was glad to have a short training block before coming here. I feel better now and hope to keep building on this momentum. I’m looking forward to the upcoming races. Thanks to our sponsors.”

On Sunday, the same squad — joined by Léa Rondel — will line up at the Omloop van het Hageland.

Results :

61 - Allison Mrugal

81 - Natalie Quinn

87 - Fiona Mangan

Picture : Quentin Production BE