Damien Gaudin (Team Europcar) showed that his victory in the Paris-Nice prologue was no fluke with another powerful win in the GP Cholet - Pays de la Loire. Having spent his childhood in the region, the race carried a certain significance for the talented time triallist, and he was delighted to prove his mantle on home soil.

Two weeks ago Damien Gaudin was one of the lesser known riders in the professional peloton. He had proved strength in time trials and cobbled classics during his first 5 seasons at Team Europcar and its predecessor Bouygues Telecom, but the elusive victory had so far eluded him.

That all changed with his surprise victory in the Paris-Nice prologue where he beat world stars Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil). Yesterday's victory was just another confirmation of a talent finally blossoming.

His incredible start to the season has been a big surprise for the Frenchman.

"I did not expect this start," he said. "I was told that my victory in the prologue of Paris-Nice was a surprise. I could not believe it. We do this job to win. It is our dream to experience these moments. It is not easy to win - and especially not in your home region. I spent the day in the front (he was away for more than 180 km of the 206 km race, ed.), so it is a much stronger effort than my prologue win."

Gaudin's victory was based on his presence in a strong 4-man breakaway which kept a hard-chasing peloton at bay. In the end he managed to outwit his fellow escapees and won ahead of Marcel Wyss (IAM), Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) and Matthias Brändle (IAM).

"The breakaway worked well together throughout the stage," he explained. At first, Rein Taaramae and Marcel Wyss accelerated (after twenty kilometres, ed.). I joined the front 10 km later in the company of Matthias Brändle and a rider from Raleigh (Russel Hampton, ed.). After 100 km, the Brit dropped off. We continued our effort before we lost Matthias Brändle. 800 meters from the line he returned and made a counter-attack. I felt good. The others did not react. I did not hesitate and I went for it."

With young sprint sensation Bryan Coquard lining up in his first race on European soil after his successful participation in the Tour de Langkawi, the team had looked to focus on him in the sprinter-friendly race. However, Gaudin's impressive strength convinced sports director Ishmael Mottier to change the pre-race strategy.

"We wanted to play the Bryan Coquard  card yesterday, " Gaudin said. "But we did not want to take the complete responsibility, so we decided to put a rider in the breakaway. It was my job. During the stage, Ishmael Mottier decided to change tactics. He put the pressure on me and told me that I should go for the win. I had the advantage of really knowing the course because I rose up in the region. I did a massive work in thebreak. I talked a lot to my fellow escapees. I asked them to keep on and told them what to do. I really wanted to win this race."

Damien Gaudin will now join up with the likes of Paris-Roubaix runner-up Sebastien Turgot and team leader Thomas Voeckler in an attempt to continue his successful run in the cobbled classics.