The French rider of Team Vorarlberg had laid the cornerstone for winning the KOM Jersey on the first stage when he was riding in a four-strong head group on his STEVENS Xenon and won almost all categorized climbs thereby following the tactics his DS Werner Salmen had laid out for him.

So it was no problem at all that the group was caught by the peloton shortly before the finish. In the opening individual time trial one day prior all the Team Vorarlberg riders had placed well in the middle ranks.

In the following stages it was up to the team, featuring Nicolas Baldo, Nicolas Winter. Lukas Meiler, Michael Kucher und Daniel Paulus to defend Clément Koretzky’s Jersey. Thanks to his team’s effort Koretzky also was able to ride to a top placing in the third and final stage.

In hot temperatures and in front of thousands of spectators the other teams were constantly attacking. It took team Vorarlberg a lot of work to catch up again. After 120 kilometers the last break-away group had been caught by Baldo, Winter and team mates, so the jersey was safe.

In the finish they maneuvered a fast Koretzky into a good position, so he could eventually sprint to 10th place in the stage. Winner was Danilo Napolitano. Overall winner became Anthony Turgis of team Cofidis, who also won the best-young-rider competition.

The loops (boucle, fr. = ”Loop”) ran through the Mayenne Departement of France, which is located south of Brittany along the river Loire. Categorized by the UCI as 2.1 the race featured a strong field with all French World Tour teams plus several high-ranked Pro Continental teams. For Team Vorarlberg and according to their management it was an important test for the upcoming Tour of Austria next July.