The first stage of the Tour de l’Ain, not seen in Bourg-en-Bresse since 2021, saw a sprint finish and maximum suspense. Having got away from the start, Australia’s Fergus Browning (Trinity Racing) managed to maintain a short lead over New Zealand’s Lawrence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) and Tobias Müller (Germany U23).
Having just set off from Laiz (neutral start) and Pont de Veyle (real start), Robin Plamondon (CIC-U-Nantes Atlantique) and Fergus Browning – a newcomer to the Tour de l’Ain but not to French roads – formed the first breakaway of the race. At the top of the côte de Chaveyriat, the Canadian was ahead of the Australian Espoirs 2024 champion and Germany’s Maté Balazs (Bike Aid) at the head of a peloton clocked at around two minutes with 60 km to go. Teams with sprinters in their ranks, including Groupama-FDJ, TotalEnergies, Arkea-B&B Hotels and Germany U23, began to organize the chase. Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) took advantage of the intermediate sprint at Chaneins to take a 1s bonus, always useful for the overall classification.
With 35 km to go, the gap had halved. By taking the lead 10 km later on the Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne climb (1 km at 4%), Browning jumped to the top of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region best climber jersey classification.
The two riders continued to hold out by 30 seconds or so, with 15 km to go to Bourg-en-Bresse, which has not welcomed a Tour de l’Ain finish since 2021.
But with the lead melting away, Browning decides to drop Plamondon with 5 km to go. Under the flamme rouge, the Australian had a 13s lead. The peloton shifted up a gear. Browning continued to resist, despite feeling the sprinters breathing down his neck. He threw all his energy into the race and managed to maintain a short lead over New Zealand’s Lawrence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ), Germany’s Tobias Müller (Germany U23), France’s Maël Guegan (CIC-U-Nantes Atlantique) and Italy’s Davide Cimolai (Movistar).
“I wanted to test myself and see how my legs felt,” says the 20-year-old winner, who is already considered a genuine prospect and is reportedly already in contact with World Tour teams. “I was surprised to see such resistance on my part. At the end, I often looked back because I didn’t know how much of a gap I had on the peloton. It’s really an unexpected victory for me!”
On the final podium, Andrew McQuaid’s protégé takes all the jerseys: the Streichenberger white jersey (best young rider), the Région Auvergne-Rhône Alpes blue with white polka dots jersey (best climber), the Crédit Mutuel green jersey (points classification) and, of course, the Solimut Mutuelle de France yellow jersey (GC). The Semcoda combative award goes to Robin Plamondon. “I was happy to spending the day at the front, but in the end, you don’t get anything…” he concludes.
Tomorrow, Sunday July 14, the likely arbiter stage takes place between Saint-Vulbas and Lélex-Monts Jura (155.3 km). For a fireworks display amongst climbers?
