2016 Classic Sud Ardèche - Souvenir Francis Delpech (1.1), France
16th edition: Saturday, February 27, 2016
Classic Sud Ardèche podium history | 2015 edition | Photos | Race map and profile | Start list
Guilherand-Granges - Guilherand-Granges, 182.6 km
Petr Vakoc wins the 2016 Classic Sud Ardèche
The Race: Here's the story from winner Petr Vakoc's Etixx-Quick Step team.
Coming off a solid block of racing in Haut Var and La Provence, Petr Vakoč scored his first win of the year.
The writing was on the wall for some time now, more exactly in the past two weeks, which saw Petr Vakoč put on a strong ride in both Tour du Haut Var and Tour La Provence, races which he finished each time in the top five, taking home the best young riders jersey. Day after day, he improved his condition and came closer to the win, missing out on his maiden victory of the season for just a handful of seconds in La Provence. Fortunately, the 23-year-old he didn't have to wait too much until breaking the ice, the 182.7-km long Classic Sud-Ardèche providing him the ideal opportunity to do that.
The day has started with a five-man break which stayed at the front until the final 20 kilometers, the last rider to be caught being Odd Christian Eiking (FDJ) under the impetuous pace of Etixx – Quick-Step. While many were left behind, other cyclists attacked and forced a selection, among the ones to make it to the front being Petr Vakoč and Pieter Serry. First who tried to get clear from that reduced group was Serry, the 27-year-old Belgian being joined by three men. That move was a short-lived one, as they were reeled in on the last climb of the race.
On the descent, with just a few kilometers left to the finish, new attacks came, and one of these had Vakoč as protagonist. The Czech champion couldn't get a gap, but that didn't matter in the end, as in the run-in of Guilherand-Granges he proved to be the fastest and won ahead of Julien Simon (Cofidis) and Olivier Pardini (Wallonie Bruxelles), notching his first victory of the season and the team's 14th since January.
"It was a hard and demanding race, all the time up and down on narrow roads. The team did an absolutely amazing job controlling the escape, which allowed me to save energy until the real action began, with 16 kilometers to go. After Pieter was caught, I attacked inside the final 5 kilometers, but it came up to a bunch sprint, which I started early, with 300 meters to go, and managed to hold the others off", said Petr right after the finish.
Following his fifth victory in the pro ranks, the young Czech looks with confidence to the second French race of the week-end, Drôme Classic, scheduled on Sunday: "I feel great now and I'm very happy for finally taking a win, after being so close a couple of days ago. It's a special moment also because this is the first time I have won as pro in a sprint, which was something regular for me as an U23 rider. Tomorrow will be a race more or less similar. The terrain is hilly and this suits me, but also my teammates can have a go there. We have many riders in good condition, and this gives us many options."
Complete Results:
182.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 37.412 km/hr
| 1 | Petr Vakoc | Etixx-Quick Step | 4hr 52min 51sec |
| 2 | Julien Simon | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 3 | Olivier Pardini | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 4 | Pieter Serry | Etixx-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 5 | Romain Bardet | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 6 | Amaël Moinard | BMC | s.t. |
| 7 | Adam Yates | Orica-GreenEdge | s.t. |
| 8 | Jérôme Coppel | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 9 | Jan Bakelants | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 10 | Julián Arredondo | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 11 | Odd Christian Eiking | FDJ | s.t. |
| 12 | Larry Warbasse | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 13 | Gianluca Brambilla | Etixx-Quick Step | +3sec |
| 14 | Hubert Dupont | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 15 | Fränk Schleck | Trek-Segafredo | +5'' |
| 16 | Nicolas Edet | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 17 | Samuel Sánchez | BMC | +8'' |
| 18 | Rudy Molard | Cofidis | +18'' |
| 19 | Darwin Atapuma | BMC | +23'' |
| 20 | Arthur Vichot | FDJ | +41'' |
| 21 | Sam Oomen | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 22 | Vicente Reynés | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 23 | David De La Cruz | Etixx-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 24 | Johnny Hoogerland | Roompot | s.t. |
| 25 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 26 | Eduard Prades | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 27 | Guillaume Levarlet | HP BTP Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 28 | Eduardo Sepúlveda | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 29 | Enrico Gasparotto | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 30 | Pierrick Fédrigo | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | +57" |
| 31 | Alexandre Geniez | FDJ | s.t. |
| 32 | Thomas Voeckler | Europcar | +1' 04'' |
| 33 | Arnold Jeannesson | Cofidis | +1' 24'' |
| 34 | Angelo Tulik | Europcar | +1' 27'' |
| 35 | Fabricio Ferrari | Caja Rural | +1' 35'' |
| 36 | Mikaël Chérel | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 37 | Nick van der Lijke | Roompot | +2' 09'' |
| 38 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen | +2' 19'' |
| 39 | Frédéric Brun | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 40 | Amets Txurruka | Orica-GreenEdge | +3' 07'' |
| 41 | Théo Vimpere | HP BTP Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 42 | Riccardo Zoidl | Trek-Segafredo | +3' 12'' |
| 43 | Carlos Verona | Etixx-Quick Step | +5' 42'' |
| 44 | Esteban Chaves | Orica-GreenEdge | s.t. |
| 45 | Simon Yates | Orica-GreenEdge | +7' 31'' |
| 46 | Romain Sicard | Europcar | +7' 46'' |
| 47 | Christian Meier | Orica-GreenEdge | +8' 00'' |
| 48 | Miguel Ángel Benito | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 49 | Huub Duyn | Roompot | s.t. |
| 50 | Cyril Gautier | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 51 | Leonardo Duque | Delko Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 52 | Jonathan Lastra | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 53 | Fredrik Ludvigsson | Giant-Alpecin | +11' 57'' |
| 54 | Anthony Turgis | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 55 | Thomas Degand | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 56 | Rohan Dennis | BMC | +12' 20'' |
| 57 | Manuel Senni | BMC | s.t. |
| 58 | César Bihel | HP BTP Auber 93 | +12' 26'' |
| 59 | Thibault Ferasse | Armée de Terre | +12' 57'' |
| 60 | Jérôme Mainard | Armée de Terre | s.t. |
| 61 | Carlos Barbero | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 62 | Fumiyuki Beppu | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 63 | Romain Combaud | Delko Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 64 | Kevin Lebreton | Armée de Terre | s.t. |
| 65 | Benoît Vaugrenard | FDJ | s.t. |
| 66 | Perrig Quémeneur | Europcar | +13' 11'' |
| 67 | Yann Guyot | Armée de Terre | s.t. |
| 68 | Clément Chevrier | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 69 | Stéphane Rossetto | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 70 | Julien Bernard | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 71 | Brice Feillu | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 72 | Armindo Fonseca | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | DNF |
| 73 | Kévin Ledanois | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | DNF |
| 74 | Francis Mourey | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | DNF |
| 75 | Maxime Cam | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | DNF |
| 76 | Dylan Teuns | BMC | DNF |
| 77 | Loïc Vliegen | BMC | DNF |
| 78 | Danilo Wyss | BMC | DNF |
| 79 | Arnaud Courteille | FDJ | DNF |
| 80 | William Bonnet | FDJ | DNF |
| 81 | Laurent Pichon | FDJ | DNF |
| 82 | Jérémy Maison | FDJ | DNF |
| 83 | Caleb Fairly | Giant-Alpecin | DNF |
| 84 | Sindre Lunke | Giant-Alpecin | DNF |
| 85 | Cheng Ji | Giant-Alpecin | DNF |
| 86 | Carter Jones | Giant-Alpecin | DNF |
| 87 | Michael Albasini | Orica-GreenEdge | DNF |
| 88 | Luka Mezgec | Orica-GreenEdge | DNF |
| 89 | Eugenio Alafaci | Trek-Segafredo | DNF |
| 90 | Laurent Didier | Trek-Segafredo | DNF |
| 91 | Kiel Reijnen | Trek-Segafredo | DNF |
| 92 | Stef Clement | IAM Cycling | DNF |
| 93 | Stefan Denifl | IAM Cycling | DNF |
| 94 | Pirmin Lang | IAM Cycling | DNF |
| 95 | Simon Pellaud | IAM Cycling | DNF |
| 96 | Maxime Bouet | Etixx-Quick Step | DNF |
| 97 | Davide Martinelli | Etixx-Quick Step | DNF |
| 98 | Rodrigo Contreras | Etixx-Quick Step | DNF |
| 99 | Samuel Dumoulin | Ag2r | DNF |
| 100 | Blel Kadri | Ag2r | DNF |
| 101 | Alexis Vuillermoz | Ag2r | DNF |
| 102 | Fabien Grellier | Europcar | DNF |
| 103 | Jérémy Cornu | Europcar | DNF |
| 104 | Fabrice Jeandesboz | Europcar | DNF |
| 105 | Guillaume Thévenot | Europcar | DNF |
| 106 | Romain Hardy | Cofidis | DNF |
| 107 | Yoann Bagot | Cofidis | DNF |
| 108 | Fredrik Galta | Delko Marseille Provence | DNF |
| 109 | Evaldas Šiškevicius | Delko Marseille Provence | DNF |
| 110 | Daniel Díaz | Delko Marseille Provence | DNF |
| 111 | Thierry Hupond | Delko Marseille Provence | DNF |
| 112 | Christophe Laborie | Delko Marseille Provence | DNF |
| 113 | Diego Rubio | Caja Rural | DNF |
| 114 | Pello Bilbao | Caja Rural | DNF |
| 115 | Hugh Carthy | Caja Rural | DNF |
| 116 | Reinier Honig | Roompot | DNF |
| 117 | Antwan Tolhoek | Roompot | DNF |
| 118 | Etienne van Empel | Roompot | DNF |
| 119 | Gaetan Bille | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | DNF |
| 120 | Antoine Demoitié | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | DNF |
| 121 | Marco Minnaard | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | DNF |
| 122 | Lander Seynaeve | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | DNF |
| 123 | Ruben Pols | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 124 | Stijn Steels | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 125 | Jef Van Meirhaeghe | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 126 | Sander Helven | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 127 | Jonas Rickaert | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 128 | Otto Vergaerde | Topsport Vlaanderen | DNF |
| 129 | Yoann Barbas | Armée de Terre | DNF |
| 130 | Alexis Bodiot | Armée de Terre | DNF |
| 131 | Bruno Armirail | Armée de Terre | DNF |
| 132 | Yannis Yssaad | Armée de Terre | DNF |
| 133 | Romain Feillu | HP BTP Auber 93 | DNF |
| 134 | Pierre Gouault | HP BTP Auber 93 | DNF |
| 135 | Alo Jakin | HP BTP Auber 93 | DNF |
| 136 | Julien Guay | HP BTP Auber 93 | DNF |
| 137 | David Menut | HP BTP Auber 93 | DNF |
| 138 | Sébastien Delfosse | Wallonie Bruxelles | DNF |
| 139 | Olivier Chevalier | Wallonie Bruxelles | DNF |
| 140 | Florent Delfosse | Wallonie Bruxelles | DNF |
| 141 | Gregory Habeaux | Wallonie Bruxelles | DNF |
| 142 | Thomas Deruette | Wallonie Bruxelles | DNF |
| 143 | Antoine Warnier | Wallonie Bruxelles | DNF |
| 144 | Kevyn Ista | Wallonie Bruxelles | DNF |
Race photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:
Fortuneo-Vital Concept is presented before the race
Rohan Dennis before the race
Direct Energie riders get ready to race
The day's break
Member of the break Brice Feillu
Amael Moinard
Panorama
Ag2r leads the pack
Peter Vakoc wins the race
And celebrates his win
Winner Petr Vakoc gets a congratulation from a fellow rider
Jhon Darwin Atapuma looking a bit worse for the wear after the race
The podium, from left: Julien Simon (2nd), Petr Vakoc and Olivier Pardini (3rd)
2016 Classic Sud Ardèche map
2016 Classic Sud Ardèche profile
Start list with back numbers, February 26, 2016:
| FORTUNEO-VITAL CONCEPT | |
| 1 | SEPULVEDA Eduardo |
| 2 | BRUN Frédéric |
| 3 | FONSECA Armindo |
| 4 | FEDRIGO Pierrick |
| 5 | LEDANOIS Kevin |
| 6 | FEILLU Brice |
| 7 | MOUREY Francis |
| 8 | CAM Maxime |
| BMC | |
| 11 | ATAPUMA Jhon Darwin |
| 12 | DENNIS Rohan |
| 13 | MOINARD Amaël |
| 14 | SANCHEZ Samuel |
| 15 | SENNI Manuel |
| 16 | TEUNS Dylan |
| 17 | VLIEGEN Loïc |
| 18 | WYSS Danilo |
| FDJ | |
| 21 | COURTEILLE Arnaud |
| 22 | GENIEZ Alexandre |
| 23 | BONNET William |
| 24 | PICHON Laurent |
| 25 | EIKING Odd Christian |
| 26 | MAISON Jérémy |
| 27 | VAUGRENARD Benoît |
| 28 | VICHOT Arthur |
| GIANT-ALPECIN | |
| 31 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias |
| 32 | FAIRLY Caleb |
| 34 | SKJOESTAD LUNKE Sindre |
| 35 | CHENG Ji |
| 36 | JONES Carter |
| 37 | LUDVIGSSON Fredrik |
| 38 | OOMEN Sam |
| ORICA-GREENEDGE | |
| 42 | ALBASINI Michael |
| 43 | YATES Simon |
| 44 | YATES Adam |
| 45 | MEIER Christian |
| 46 | CHAVES Johan Esteban |
| 47 | MEZGEC Luka |
| 48 | TXURRUKA Amets |
| TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
| 51 | ALAFACI Eugenio |
| 52 | ARREDONDO Julian |
| 53 | BEPPU Fumiyuki |
| 54 | BERNARD Julien |
| 55 | DIDIER Laurent |
| 56 | REIJNEN Kiel |
| 57 | SCHLECK Frank |
| 58 | ZOIDL Riccardo |
| IAM CYCLING | |
| 61 | CHEVRIER Clement |
| 62 | CLEMENT Stef |
| 63 | DENIFL Stefan |
| 64 | WARBASSE Larry |
| 65 | LANG Pirmin |
| 66 | PELLAUD Simon |
| 67 | REYNES MIMO Vicente |
| 68 | COPPEL Jerome |
| ETIXX-QUICK STEP | |
| 71 | BOUET Maxime |
| 72 | BRAMBILLA Gianluca |
| 73 | DE LA CRUZ David |
| 74 | MARTINELLI Davide |
| 75 | VAKOC Petr |
| 76 | SERRY Pieter |
| 77 | VERONA Carlos |
| 78 | CONTRERAS Rodrigo |
| AG2R-LA MONDIALE | |
| 81 | BARDET Romain |
| 82 | BAKELANTS Jan |
| 83 | DUMOULIN Samuel |
| 84 | CHEREL Mickaël |
| 85 | KADRI Blel |
| 86 | DUPONT Hubert |
| 87 | GAUTIER Cyril |
| 88 | VUILLERMOZ Alexis |
| DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| 91 | GRELLIER Fabien |
| 92 | CORNU Jérémy |
| 93 | JEANDESBOZ Fabrice |
| 94 | THÉVENOT Guillaume |
| 95 | QUEMENEUR Perrig |
| 96 | SICARD Romain |
| 97 | TULIK Angelo |
| 98 | VOECKLER Thomas |
| COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS | |
| 101 | HARDY Romain |
| 102 | JEANNESSON Arnold |
| 103 | MOLARD Rudy |
| 104 | SIMON Julien |
| 105 | TURGIS Anthony |
| 106 | EDET Nicolas |
| 107 | ROSSETTO Stéphane |
| 108 | BAGOT Yohan |
| DELKO MARSEILLE PROVENCE KTM | |
| 111 | GALTA Frederik Strand |
| 112 | COMBAUD Romain |
| 113 | SISKEVICIUS Evaldas |
| 114 | DUQUE Leonardo |
| 115 | DIAZ Daniel |
| 116 | HUPOND Thierry |
| 117 | LABORIE Christophe |
| CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | |
| 121 | RUBIO HERNANDEZ Diego |
| 122 | BARBERO CUESTA Carlos |
| 123 | BENITO DIEZ Miguel Angel |
| 124 | LASTRA MARTINEZ Jonathan |
| 125 | FERRARI Fabricio |
| 126 | PRADES REVERTE Eduard |
| 127 | BILBAO Pello |
| 128 | CARTHY Hugh |
| ROOMPOT ORANJE PELOTON | |
| 131 | DUYN Huub |
| 132 | HONIG Reinier |
| 133 | HOOGERLAND Johnny |
| 135 | TOLHOEK Antwan |
| 136 | VAN EMPEL Etienne |
| 137 | VAN DER LIJKE Nick |
| WANTY–GROUPE GOBERT | |
| 141 | BILLE Gaetan |
| 142 | DEGAND Thomas |
| 143 | DEMOITIE Antoine |
| 145 | GASPAROTTO Enrico |
| 146 | MINNAARD Marco |
| 148 | SEYNAEVE Lander |
| TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| 152 | POLS Ruben |
| 153 | STEELS Stijn |
| 154 | VAN MEIRHAEGHE Jef |
| 155 | LIETAER Eliot |
| 156 | HELVEN Sander |
| 157 | RICKAERT Jonas |
| 158 | VERGAERDE Otto |
| ARMÉE DE TERRE | |
| 161 | BARBAS Yoann |
| 162 | BODIOT Alexis |
| 163 | ARMIRAIL Bruno |
| 164 | GUYOT Yann |
| 165 | LEBRETON Kevin |
| 166 | MAINARD Jérôme |
| 167 | YSSAAD Yannis |
| 168 | FERASSE Thibault |
| HP-BTP AUBER 93 | |
| 171 | BIHEL César |
| 172 | FEILLU Romain |
| 173 | GOUAULT Pierre |
| 174 | JAKIN Alo |
| 175 | LEVARLET Guillaume |
| 176 | GUAY Julien |
| 177 | MENUT David |
| 178 | VIMPERE Théo |
| WALLONIE BRUXELLES | |
| 181 | DELFOSSE Sébastien |
| 182 | CHEVALIER Olivier |
| 183 | DELFOSSE Florent |
| 184 | HABEAUX Gregory |
| 185 | DERUETTE Thomas |
| 186 | PARDINI Olivier |
| 187 | WARNIER Antoine |
| 188 | ISTA Kevin |