Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r) continued his impressive 2015 season by winning the final stage of the Tour du Gevaudan. After two passages of the Montee Laurent Jalabert had whittled the main group down to 20 riders, he beat Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Thomas Sprengers (Topsport) in the sprint while second place was enough for Pinot to take the overall victory.

With an 11th place in last year’s Giro d’Italia, it was already evident that Alexis Vuillermoz was a great talent. However, one thing was missing: victories.

In 2015, Vuillermoz has fully confirmed that he has the killer instinct to win races, most notably when he won the Mur de Bretagne stage in the Tour de France. He also won the GP Plumelec, using his great puncheur skills.

However, he took one big win in 2014 as he came out on top in the final stage of the Tour du Gevaudan whose two passages of the brutally steep Montee Laurent Jalabert and flat final 20km make it tailor-made for a rider who can both climb and sprint. Today he repeated that performance to make up for the disappointment of not being able to follow the best in yesterday’s summit finish.

"I had the leadership of the team to win the stage" he told Directvelo. "I knew it was a finish that suited me fine. I took my first pro win here last year. 

"I could count on a very good team. We had two riders in the break, which allowed us to stay calm for much of the race. We saw Hubert Dupont do a big job to bring the attacker (Angel Madrazo) back as he was still 50 seconds ahead 12 kilometers from the finish. Romain (Bardet) led me out perfectly. I made ​​my sprint with 200m to go. It was ideal. 

"I was certainly less physically strong than in other races but the team made ​​the difference today. Yesterday it was below our expectations. But when you look in hindsight, I have only done two races since the pre-Olympic race in Rio. There is no miracle. I lacked pace and intensity. I was in my place. Today, we were more focused on the stage than the GC. It was what he was most appropriate to do. We were well rewarded. 

"Next week I will do Milan-Turin and the Tour of Lombardy. Milan-Turin is a race that suits me well. I hope to be compete with the best there. "

"Today we made ​​a good team team effort," sports director Didier Jannel told Directvelo. "From the beginning, we had Blel Kadri and Axel Domont in the break. You had to be represented in the right breakaway, you never know. Then they were caught  on the final climb. 

"Romain Bardet tried his luck here, he is a fighter and had nothing to lose, he needs to move. Before this final stage, he rode for an hour and he again rode for one hour after the race as the Tour of Lombardy is his big goal. 

"Romain could not stay away so we still had a card with Alexis Vuillermoz who won this same stage last year in a sprint. Hubert Dupont did a great job on the flat to bring back Angel Madrazo. Then Romain Bardet took over. Alexis has come back well, he caught a small virus at the GP Plouay. So he did not feel very well in Quebec, the preparation was a bit hampered. 

"Romain Bardet has pressure for the Tour of Lombardy. Alexis is a good guy who can sruvive the medium mountains and is a puncheur able to win in uphill finishes. He is also ready to work for others."