Alexis Gougeard continued the fantastic momentum for Ag2r when the young neo-pro became a surprise winner of the Classique Loire Atlantique. Having been instructed to take care of the early breakaway, the youngster got into the right move before launching a solo attack and he was pleased to keep the ball rolling for the successful team.

Jean-Christophe Peraud opened the account for Ag2r when he won on the Mont-Faron in the Tour Mediteraneen and since then, the French team has been virtually unstoppable. Carlos Betancur won a stage and the overall at the Tour du Haut-Var, Romain Bardet took the Drome Classic, Betancur was first across the line twice in Paris-Nice which he also won overall and the team put two riders in the top 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico.

It is a well-known fact that momentum from the team leaders often spread to their teammates and this was again underlined in today's second round of Coupe de France. Young neo-pro Alexis Gougeard grabbed an opportunity to go for the win with both hands and took his first victory just a few months after turning professional.

Gougeard and his teammate Julien Berard made it into the original 19-rider breakaway which was just metres from getting caught at the midpoint of the race. 12 of the riders, including Berard and Gougeard, refused to give up and managed to reopen their advantage sufficiently to stay away to the finish.

With 7km to go, Gougeard made a solo attack and even though he was chased hard by Kenneth Vanbilsen and Wesley Kreder, he managed to stay clear to take a big solo win. Berard won the sprint for 4th while the team's sprinter Yauheni Hutarovich was the fastest in the peloton to take 13th.

“I’m so glad for my self and for the whole Team Ag2r," he said. "It confirms our current excellent momentum with many victories in recent weeks and I wanted to take advantage of it. When I attacked in the final part, I didn’t really believe that it was possible but at three kilometers from the finish, when I saw that my pursuers didn’t work together, I started to think that I was able to do it. Since the beginning of the season I have done my best as a teammate. Today, I knew I had a role to play and I had to seize the opportunity, which I did.

"Of course I'm pleased with this success," he added to Directvelo. "We made a great team performance today. At the briefing this morning, the instruction was for Julien Bérard and me to be vigilant. It worked out. I think it was better to be ahead than to be in the bunch with all the fight. 

"The course was difficult. Some roads were narrow, it was wet. The agreement was not always good when we were 19 in the breakaway. Then when the peloton was just few meters from us, everyone gave it their all. Then we moved forward with a good cooperation. We were now down to 12. 

"There was a lot of wind. Everyone worked well. I especially paid attention to Topsport Vlaanderen as they had two riders [Vanbilsen and Sander Helven]. On the penultimate climb, Kevin Reza attacked. I was well placed at that time. I had good legs. So I countered at the top. Then I measured my efforts until the last climb. I knew then, with my qualities as a rouleur, there was a good chance that I could succeed. 

"I have calculated and managed my effort until the end. The chasers (Kreder and Vanbilsen) got to within a few metres from me just two kilometers from the finish. I gave it my all despite already being on the limit. I managed to keep my belief in victory. "