Due to a mechanical, Romain Bardet was not in the mix in today's Classic Sud-Ardeche. However, Ag2r-La Mondiale still played a prominent role with the attacks of Guillaume Bonnafond and Pierre-Roger Latour who joined the early break.

"The team wanted to do well because it is a weekend that we like well and where we have often succeeded," Bonnafond told Directvelo. "We were offensive early in the race because we were among the favorites. We did not want to carry the weight of the race on this type of course. In the end we were a little too offensive. In a group of six, we were two. 

"I followed one attack and I thought that other riders would react. We needed to be at least a dozen to stay away. The peloton did not leave much ground. 

"In the end, Jean-Christophe (Péraud) tightened the race because Romain (Bardet) wanted it to be hard . But Romain has had problems with his derailleur. We will not lose morale.We will try to have a good race tomorrow. I tried to be quiet in the end to save energy for tomorrow." 

"The goal was to be in the break so that the team didn't have to chase," Latour told Directvelo. "Finally, we were there with two of us, with Guillaume (Bonnafond). We tried to go as far as possible. When we were caught, we tried to help but we were a little cooked. I brought Romain (Bardet) back for the Cote de la Vignasse because he had a mechanical problem. Then I was dropped, I was empty.

"It was nice to spend the day on the attack but I will pay for it. Tomorrow it will be a tough race. The course is hard. There will be no wind but the rain will make it tough."