Published on : 04/18/2026
On a 185-kilometre course designed for puncheurs, with over 3,000 metres of elevation gain and a summit finish atop Mont Poupet, Cofidis delivered an attacking race. Louis Rouland finishes 8th, Jamie Meehan 9th.
A six-man breakaway went clear early in the race. The peloton kept the gap under control. With 38 km to go, on the Thésy climb, the pace surges and the peloton shatters. The team was well represented with Jamie Meehan, Yael Joalland, Sylvain Moniquet and Louis Rouland all present. It was then that Louis Rouland went on the attack with 32 km to go. He found himself in a duo of chasers with 20 km remaining, before hitting the front on the lower slopes of Mont Poupet alongside Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies). Caught in the final climb, he holds on for a solid 8th place. Jamie Meehan, also the author of a strong ride, takes 9th.
Quote from Jean Luc Jonrond, sporting director:
"The race format was pretty much the same as yesterday. The goal was to ride in a good position, as a tight-knit group. We had six riders today, since Yaël Joalland joined the team.
A breakaway formed consisting of six riders from continental teams. It was controlled by Modern Aventure along with Total Energy and Decathlon CMA CGM. With 30 km to go, Louis Rouland attacked on the Salins-les-Bains climb, one of the day’s main challenges. It wasn’t part of the plan, but he wanted to secure his position and avoid wasting energy on the placement.
He set off alongside Mattéo Vercher, but they were caught on Mont Poupet, in the final four kilometers, by the day’s winner, Matthew Riccitello.
Louis finished in fourth place alongside Jamie Meehan. They secured an eighth-place finish for Louis and a ninth-place finish for Jamie. They missed the mark slightly on their sprint, but overall, it was a positive day to take away, as there was strong teamwork from the entire group of riders.
When Louis was at the front, we still had four riders in the breakaway with Yaël, Jamie, followed by Sylvain Moniquet and Sergio Samitier. Edoardo Zamperini also did a good job working with the group to position everyone. So, yes, it’s an eighth and a ninth place. These weren’t the results we’d hoped for. But the team’s performance was positive. We need to focus on the positive side of this with a team that’s, let’s say, a bit of a mix, given that there were quite a few young riders alongside more experienced ones. It was a fairly positive weekend in Franche-Comté."