He says it himself, it is the greatest success of his career, already rich with seven victories. At 26, Dorian Godon (AG2R-Citroën) won the Flèche Brabançonne after a two-man sprint against his breakaway companion, the Irishman Ben Healy, in Overijse in the Brussels suburbs on Wednesday.
Another Frenchman Benoît Cosnefroy completed the triumph of the AG2R team by taking third place ahead of two compatriots, Rémi Cavagna and Axel Zingle.
Godon was part of a six-man breakaway initiated by former French champion Remi Cavagna 38 kilometers from the line.
The latter was unable to keep up with the Godon-Healy pair when the latter made a start in the penultimate difficulty of the day 18 kilometers from the finish.
Third French victory in a Belgian classic this spring
Cavagna, victim of a slow puncture in the last kilometers, even had to let slip the podium, a new disappointment for the Soudal-Quick Step team, little spared by the jinx in recent weeks.
“I did not have very good feelings when the breakaway of six took shape, but I gradually found my legs, commented Godon, Lyonnais although a native of Vitry-sur-Seine (94). And in a two-man sprint, I wasn’t going to let go: we have so few opportunities to play for the win…”
After the successes of Christophe Laporte in Gand-Wevelgem and A travers la Flandre, this is a third French victory in a Belgian classic this spring.
“The team was rather unhappy during the Flandriennes. Here, we are doing “one” and “three” with Benoît who arrives in very good shape for the Ardennes. It really feels good…”, continued the Francilien who had never won outside France.
“It’s my best victory,” he said. When you look at the list of winners, there are a lot of big names”, concluded the one who adds his name to the honor roll of a race including, among others, Peter Sagan, Tom Pidcock, Philippe Gilbert, Mathieu van der Poel or Julian Alaphilippe. – forfeited this year due to knee pain.