Frenchman Arnaud Démare won his first victory under his new Arkéa-Samsic colors by winning the Tour de Vendée on Sunday where Slovakian Peter Sagan bowed out.
Having left Groupama-FDJ angry this summer after his non-selection for the Tour de France, the 32-year-old Picardy sprinter dominated Paul Penhoët and Sandy Dujardin in the sprint.
Penhoët, a young talent from the Groupama-FDJ team, becomes at 21 the youngest winner of the general classification of the Coupe de France at the end of this 17th and final round. “It’s a lot of emotion because I’ve been really struggling lately. It’s my first victory for Arkéa-Samsic and in addition there is (his teammate) Laurent Pichon who is ending his career today,” commented Démare.
This is the 94th victory of his career, making him one of the most prolific runners in activity. One of those who are ahead of him in the number of victories with 121 successes, Peter Sagan, ended his road career at the highest level on Sunday, at the age of 33.
Three-time world champion and seven-time winner of the green jersey at the Tour de France, the Slovakian from TotalEnergies will now devote himself to mountain biking with the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as his objective. For this, he intends to compete in a few more smaller road races as basic preparation, but no more events at the World Tour level, the first division of world cycling. On Sunday, the whimsical Slovakian played the role of pilot fish in the finale to launch Sandy Dujardin, third.
