In March, the cycling world learnt that Alexis Gougeard could develop into a future star when he beat several established professionals to win the Classique Loire Atlantique just a few weeks after his professional debut. Today he proved that the victory was no fluke as he won another hard French one-day race, Boucles de l'Aulne.

 

Already yesterday Gougeard had proved that he is in great condition when he was part of a front duo that was only caught 1.5km from the line in the Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan but apparently that effort had not left him fatigued for today's second leg of a big cycling weekend in Bretagne. When a big group escaped early in the race, he made sure to be one of several Ag2r riders to make the split and when the group was divided into two later in the race, he was again in the first group.

 

When it became clear that the winner would be one of the 16 riders in the first group, the cooperation ended and the riders started to attack each other. When Rudy Kowalski launched an attack 16km from the finish, Gougeard responded and the pair quickly built up a small gap.

 

Europcar and Cofidis both had several riders in the group of chasers but despite their collective efforts, they failed to bring back the front duo. On the uphill finishing straight, Gougeard proved his fantastic strength when he dropped Kowalski and held on to take a big solo win.

 

“It’s always a great pleasure to win," he said. "I was close to victory yesterday at the Grand Prix de Plumelec and today I managed to get the ball in the net.

 

"AG2R LA MONDIALE has again demonstrated its excellent team spirit. We were well represented at the front with Sam (Dumoulin), JC (Péraud) and Mika (Cherel).

 

"I was a little revenge from yesterday. I feel good right now. I have just finished a three-day camp in the Vosges with Steve Chainel and Julian Alaphilippe. It did me good. I recovered well but I felt the pain today. 

 

"I knew I had to be patient, that it was going to split up. It really split on the small circuit. First it split on the difficult big circuit. A large group emerged. I was careful because there were sprinters, including Yannick Martinez. I tried to get clear on my which I managed to do. 
 

"I had not raced since the Tour de Picardie and when I have arrived here I didn't know exactly if I was in a good shape or not. I felt well yesterday and I can say today that I’m reassured about my shape.

 

"My next race is the Critérium du Dauphiné. It will be yet another level. I take my selection as a reward. I'll try to go into breakaways. Obviously, it will not be the same kind of race and to compete in such a race will permit me to gather more experience.

 

"I'll be at the start of the French TT championships. It's a long race, in general I'm not too good in that kind of races. I will mainly do it to progress on long distances. Racing benefits me more than training."