Paul Lapeira: «There was a «win» to be had.»
«The breakaway took advantage of the fact that the big teams were neutralising each other and went all the way. So there was a win up for grabs. I made a tactical error. There was a headwind and I should have attacked the sprint from behind to take advantage of the slipstream. That's what the winner did. I'm a little disappointed to have come so close to my first victory, especially in a UCI WorldTour race. I know that with hindsight, I'll appreciate this performance a little more. For my third race as a pro, it's not bad.«[/su_quote]
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After turning professional on 1 January, Paul Lapeira, who came up through the AG2R CITROËN team's U19 and U23 training programme, achieved the first podium finish of his career on his twelfth day of racing.
The information
Originally from the same village as Mikaël Chérel
Paul Lapeira, 22, is from Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët, in the Manche department, the same village as Mikaël Chérel, 35. The two men have known each other since 2008. Paul was eight years old and Mikaël was already a professional cyclist. Today, they are teammates riding for the AG2R CITROËN team. «Mikaël was my idol,» says Paul Lapeira. «I was impressed to see this young Norman from my village who was so passionate and followed all my results. I was keen to help him and never lost sight of him,» explains Mikaël Chérel.
