Tour de Vendée - Victory for Arnaud Démare
Arnaud Démare takes his first victory in his new colors at the Tour de Vendée 2023.
“All my team-mates really gave me a hard time when they took the handle to lock in the race, but in the end everything went really well. It was a superb day, Laurent Pichon’s last race, and my first success with Arkéa-Samsic. All my team-mates put in a great performance, they really came through, and this victory is for them too. We were well positioned throughout the race with Lukasz, Laurent, Dan, Anthony and at the end with Donavan and Clément, it’s really a collective victory. Thanks guys! “
“There are a lot of emotions tonight, my loved ones were there, my friends, my family and we had a great chance to win with Arnaud. He did it brilliantly, with the help of the whole team. I couldn’t have wished for anything better. I didn’t give up when two of my team-mates and I were in trouble, we got together in a group, and in the end I motivated everyone and we got back into the peloton to help the team as best we could right to the end. We controlled from A to Z and Arnaud Démare unlocked his counter with us, which is really great, he’s launched and it’s not over yet. “
“We had come to win the Tour de Vendée, and we were the only ones to bear the weight of the race on our shoulders. The Arkéa-Samsic team held out, and in the final we were still there in numbers. Arnaud Démare finished in fine style. The guys gave 110% throughout the race. It wasn’t easy because we were on our own all day, and to win like that is really great. It’s great for Laurent Pichon, who’s hanging up his boots tonight after a great career, and for Arnaud. As I told the guys, it wasn’t Laurent Pichon’s jubilee, and we were here first and foremost to win the Tour de Vendée. And tonight Laurent finishes with a fine team victory. “