Published on : 05/14/2026
A breakaway, a rider in the lead on the day’s only climb (Edoardo Zamperini), another taking second place (Alexis Renard)… On Thursday, the Cofidis team put in a particularly impressive performance, showing great team spirit and energy on the roads of the Tour of Hungary. A look back at a near-perfect day.
Suddenly, they decided to turn the tables and shake things up. One thing’s for sure: the Cofidis riders roused a few viewers from their afternoon nap – and a few riders too… With 26 kilometres to go, on one of the long fast roads, the riders from the northern team positioned themselves at the front and put their foot down. Within minutes, the crosswind attack had worked: a large part of the peloton, including the yellow jersey, found themselves trapped. At the front, it was the six Cofidis riders who continued to set a blistering pace.
Zamperini and Renard in the spotlight
From then on, the stage became electric. And it was Edoardo Zamperini who took the lead. Part of a group of strong riders, he worked hard to get to the front of the day’s only climb. An effort that allowed him to bag precious points and don the red jersey of best climber, sponsored by… Cofidis – you couldn’t make it up! In the wake of this, Edoardo and Alexis Renard withstood multiple surges. Whilst the winner, Benoît Cosnefroy, launched a decisive attack, Alexis did not let up. At the finish line, the Breton gave it his all to finish in 2nd place, just as he did five days ago on the roads of the Tro Bro Léon.
Because all the Cofidis riders and staff are fierce competitors, the prevailing feeling at the finish line was one of disappointment at having let victory slip away. But they can all be proud of having pulled off a cracking stage, a demonstration of collective strength. “We were all there in the crosswinds,” smiles Edoardo during the post-race press conference. The Cofidis team is already looking ahead to what’s next: a new hilly stage tomorrow and two mountain stages this weekend are on the programme.
THEY SAID
Alexis Renard:
“What stands out for me above all is the great team effort. I think the team performed very well overall, and we can be pleased that all six of us were part of the breakaway. We’d spotted that opportunity and we all saw that we could give it a go. Then we did everything we could to make the move stick. I fought right to the end to get the best possible result. As much as I was disappointed with my second place at the Tro Bro Léon, I’m completely satisfied here because it’s the culmination of some great teamwork.”
Edoardo Zamperini, best climber:
“There was a crosswind all day and we knew we could try a breakaway. Nobody in the peloton wanted to give it a go, so we thought we had to take a chance. And we succeeded! In the final, I didn’t feel in great shape but I knew I had to hang on because we had a card to play with Alexis (Renard). Unfortunately, victory wasn’t on the cards, but the thing to take away is that our team effort was truly incredible today.”
Roberto Damiani, sports director:
“We fought right to the end with the belief that we could go for the win. I’d like to congratulate all our riders, who managed the stage really well despite the stress of the crosswinds. They decided to ‘ride the wind’ and did so at the right moment before putting in a great performance in the final stretch. Then we took a chance with Edoardo and Alexis, and that was the right thing to do. We must continue to maintain this great team spirit and show the same level of cohesion in the coming stages. We mustn’t forget that when we were drafting, we had the whole team!”
