Yohann Gené (Europcar) got a rare chance to sprint for himself in yesterday’s final stage of the Boucles de la Mayenne and he proved that he is a very capable sprinter when he beat Tom Van Asbroeck and Roy Jans to take his first win in 2014. The Frenchman has had a few health issues early in the year and is pleased to have found back his good sensations for a very important part of the season.

Yohann Gené is known as a pretty fast rider but in a team where much of the sprinting focus is on Bryan Coquard, the Europcar rider rarely gets the chance to do a bunch sprint on his own. Yesterday he saw an opportunity to chase a personal result when the final stage of the Boucles de la Mayenne came down to the expected bunch sprint and the Frenchman again proved that he has a very fast finish by taking his first victory of the season.

The Europcar had taken a back seat throughout much of the stage as prologue winner Jimmy Engoulvent was part of the early breakaway but when that group was brought back, they put their complete faith in Gené. The team took control in the final in an attempt to set up their fast finisher for his first win since last year’s Route du Sud and in the sprint, he paid back their hard work by beating Tom Van Asbroeck – who was second for the second day in a row – and Roy Jans who was actually leading out his Wanty teammate Danilo Napolitano.

"The goal was not to miss the breakaways,” he told Directvelo. “I had to wait for the sprint. In the break, we had Jimmy Engoulvent. He is my training partner together with Angelo Tulik. They had both won this year and Jimmy knew that it was important for me to win too. 

“When we caught the break, Jimmy sacrificed himself for me. The sprint was a bit hectic. It required a big fight to get into a good position. But the whole team did a great job to place me well. I just had to concentrate on my sprint. 

“I was never confident before the sprint but I knew I had good sensations. I know if I have good legs, I can win a bunch sprint. I told it to my teammates. This is my first victory this year. I was a little anxious when I launched my sprint. I was often sick early in the season.”