Benoît Cosnefroy: «No regrets»
«We came here to fight for victory with the team. We came close with this podium finish. They rode very hard at the front and despite working well with Julian (Alaphilippe) and Guillaume (Martin), we weren't able to catch up. It was a great battle between the French riders! There are no regrets, we did what we could with what we had physically today. I enjoyed myself. It's a beautiful course and a beautiful finish.»[/su_quote]
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Benoît Cosnefroy secured the AG2R CITROËN team's sixth podium finish in nine editions of the Faun Drôme Classic. Romain Bardet, Samuel Dumoulin and Alexis Vuillermoz won the race in 2014, 2015 and 2019 respectively. Jan Bakelants took second place in 2016 and finished third in 2017. Benoît Cosnefroy finished third in 2022.
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Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne: Oliver Naesen 20th
Oliver Naesen finished 20th in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Damien Touzé was part of the breakaway. «We'll remember Greg Van Avermaet and Oliver Naesen's third and fourth places on Saturday in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on this first weekend of the classics. The new Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne route is more suited to sprinters than to «classicmen». Without a minor issue in the final sprint, Oliver could have finished in the top 10,» said Julien Jurdie, sporting director of the AG2R CITROËN team.
