Ewen Costiou runner-up
Winner of the second stage on Wednesday of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour, Ewen Costiou finished 2nd in the final general classification and best young rider of this 2nd edition.
Photo : Getty
“I have no regrets on a personal level! The ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team is in the same situation, and we gave it our all during the week’s racing. My disappointment is with Clément Venturini, my team-mate. He was very strong all week, and even more so on this final stage (3rd). He showed a very high level, but he didn’t get the result he deserved. As far as I’m concerned, I was beaten by a faster rider, Marijn van den Berg. I couldn’t fight against him in the bonus sprints. Today, in the final, Ben Healy did an incredible job for Van Den Berg. But I’m really sorry for Clément who was really strong. I finished second overall in this Région Pays de la Loire Tour. On Wednesday, I won my first race with the pros. I’m really pleased with that, especially as the course wasn’t really suited to my abilities. I’ve noticed that as the races have gone by, I’ve made progress in the long efforts, but that on the other hand I’m a little less ‘punchy’ on the steep climbs. The ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team and I can be happy with the results we’ve achieved this week, and I’d really like to thank all my team-mates for the work they’ve done on my behalf throughout the week’s racing.”
“The course of this final stage of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour was favourable to the collective strength of our rivals. They also benefited from the speed of Marijn van den Berg, who went for the bonus at the start of the race. If we’d lost the race by just a few seconds, that would have been regrettable, but here the gap is much bigger. I like the spirit of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team with Clément Venturini, who is still in a position to win in the final of this stage. He was very strong. If the finish had been judged at the top of Gazonfier, he wouldn’t have been far from success. But you can’t redo the race, that’s the way it is. The week was a good one, with concentrated riders in a race that came down to very little. We finished second overall and won a stage”.