2016 La Drôme Classic (1.1), France
4th edition: Sunday, February 28, 2016
La Drôme Classic podium history | 2015 edition | 2017 edition | race map and profile | Photos | Start list
Livron - Livron, 200.5 km
Petr Vakoc makes it a double-win weekend
The Race: winner Petr Vakoc's Etixx-Quick Step team explained the race thus.
After winning Classic Sud-Ardèche on Saturday, the 23-year-old came out on top also in Drôme Classic.
Petr Vakoč put an end to his February campaign in a fantastic way, by becoming the first rider to take the victory in both Classic Sud-Ardèche and Drôme Classic, two hilly races that were very much to the Czech champion's liking. Once again, he delivered at the finish, after another excellent day of the team, which had our riders stay at the head of the peloton, controlling the gap of the four escapees: Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R), Jérémy Cornu (Direct Energie), Guillaume Levarlet (HP-BTP Auber 93) and Anthony Perez (Cofidis).
In the final 30 kilometers of the Drôme Classic (Livron – Livron, 203.8 km), the break was reabsorbed, and as soon as that happened, David De La Cruz accelerated from the pack and got a small gap together with Arnold Jeannesson (Cofidis) and Pierre-Roger Latour (AG2R). Unfortunately for David, it was to no avail, because they were caught on a climb by the chasing group, which included Gianluca Brambilla. The latter was also in the mix, reacting to an attack of Romain Bardet (AG2R) on the last hill, but they too were joined by others.
From the second group, Jan Bakelants (AG2R) used the final climb of the race as springboard and was quickly followed by Petr Vakoč. The two worked hard and caught the riders at the front, then passed right by them and fought for the victory in a two-man sprint, which saw Petr come out on top, taking back-to-back wins for the first time in his career. Arthur Vichot (FDJ) rounded out the podium, while another Etixx – Quick-Step rider, Pieter Serry, finished 5th.
“I am extremely happy to score another victory, 24 hours after the one in Classic Sud-Ardèche. It’s really incredible. Once again, the race was hard, with narrow roads, which forced us to be at all times at the front, fighting for a good position. When Bakelants attacked, I jumped immediately into his wheel and we managed to catch the group at the front and leave those riders behind. I knew the finale and it was very important to enter first in that last corner. Bakelants anticipated me and was the first to go into that corner, but I found the power to come back and outsprint him in the final 50 meters”, said Petr Vakoč before climbing to the podium.
The Czech rider, who is poised to make his Strade Bianche debut next week-end, continued: "If yesterday I was under pressure, today I was more relaxed. Everything went as planned and we were in the thick of the action during the whole race, with the likes of David, Pieter and Gianluca. The team was fantastic yet again. I'm very satisfied for becoming the first rider to do the Classic Sud-Ardèche – Drôme Classic double. These wins come after my hard training in the off-season. I worked relentlessly in order to be competitive in the first part of the season and I'm happy that it all paid off very early this year."
Complete Results:
200.5 kilometers raced at an average speed of 38.938 km/hr
| 1 | Petr Vakoc | Etixx-Quick Step | 5hr 8min 57sec |
| 2 | Jan Bakelants | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 3 | Arthur Vichot | FDJ | +6sec |
| 4 | Julien Simon | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 5 | Pieter Serry | Etixx-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 6 | Adam Yates | Orica-GreenEdge | s.t. |
| 7 | Romain Feillu | HP BTP Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 8 | Romain Bardet | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 9 | Anthony Maldonado | HP BTP Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 10 | Lilian Calmejane | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 11 | Anthony Delaplace | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 12 | Enrico Gasparotto | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 13 | Angelo Tulik | Direct Energie | +12'' |
| 14 | Gianluca Brambilla | Etixx-Quick Step | +13'' |
| 15 | Vicente Reynés | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 16 | Eduard Prades | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 17 | Nicolas Edet | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 18 | Sam Oomen | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 19 | Marco Minnaard | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 20 | Simon Yates | Orica-GreenEdge | +16'' |
| 21 | Jimmy Raibaud | Armée de Terre | s.t. |
| 22 | Johnny Hoogerland | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 23 | Leonardo Duque | Delko Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 24 | Christian Meier | Orica-GreenEdge | +22'' |
| 25 | Fränk Schleck | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 26 | Larry Warbasse | IAM Cycling | +25'' |
| 27 | Maxime Bouet | Etixx-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 28 | Pierre Latour | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 29 | David Menut | HP BTP Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 30 | David De La Cruz | Etixx-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 31 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 32 | Carlos Verona | Etixx-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 33 | Esteban Chaves | Orica-GreenEdge | s.t. |
| 34 | Thomas Degand | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 35 | Pierrick Fédrigo | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | +31'' |
| 36 | Cyril Gautier | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 37 | Amaël Moinard | BMC Racing | s.t. |
| 38 | Hugh Carthy | Caja Rural | +36'' |
| 39 | Alexandre Geniez | FDJ | +47'' |
| 40 | Arnold Jeannesson | Cofidis | +53'' |
| 41 | Darwin Atapuma | BMC Racing | s.t. |
| 42 | Alo Jakin | HP BTP Auber 93 | +1' 11'' |
| 43 | Romain Sicard | Direct Energie | +1' 13'' |
| 44 | Thomas Voeckler | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 45 | Maxime Renault | HP BTP Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 46 | Rudy Molard | Cofidis | +1' 15'' |
| 47 | Jérôme Coppel | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 48 | Michael Albasini | Orica-GreenEdge | +2' 03'' |
| 49 | Romain Hardy | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 50 | Danilo Wyss | BMC Racing | +2' 06'' |
| 51 | Arnaud Gérard | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | +2' 41'' |
| 52 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 53 | Nick van der Lijke | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 54 | Huub Duyn | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 55 | Jonathan Lastra | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 56 | Romain Combaud | Delko Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 57 | Florent Delfosse | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 58 | Fabricio Ferrari | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 59 | Fabrice Jeandesboz | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 60 | Amets Txurruka | Orica-GreenEdge | s.t. |
| 61 | Laurent Didier | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 62 | Ben Gastauer | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 63 | Julián Arredondo | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 64 | Samuel Sánchez | BMC Racing | s.t. |
| 65 | Kévin Ledanois | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | +2' 49'' |
| 66 | Pello Bilbao | Caja Rural | +3' 01'' |
| 67 | Axel Domont | Ag2r | +4' 10'' |
| 68 | Carter Jones | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 69 | Daniel Díaz | Delko Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 70 | Dylan Teuns | BMC Racing | +5' 09'' |
| 71 | Yann Guyot | Armée de Terre | s.t. |
| 72 | Jonas Rickaert | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 73 | Odd Christian Eiking | FDJ | s.t. |
| 74 | Gaëtan Pons | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 75 | Christophe Laborie | Delko Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 76 | Antoine Warnier | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 77 | Julien Stassen | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 78 | Sindre Lunke | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 79 | Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | FDJ | s.t. |
| 80 | Evaldas Šiškevicius | Delko Marseille Provence | s.t. |
| 81 | Luka Mezgec | Orica-GreenEdge | s.t. |
| 82 | Armindo Fonseca | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 83 | Perrig Quémeneur | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 84 | Julien Bernard | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 85 | Guillaume Bonnafond | Ag2r | s.t. |
| 86 | Kiel Reijnen | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 87 | Arnaud Courteille | FDJ | s.t. |
| 88 | Clément Chevrier | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 89 | Guillaume Levarlet | HP BTP Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 90 | Riccardo Zoidl | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 91 | Julien Guay | HP BTP Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 92 | Gregory Habeaux | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 93 | Francis Mourey | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | +5' 21'' |
| 94 | Anthony Perez | Cofidis | +6' 29'' |
| 95 | Jérémy Cornu | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 96 | Thierry Hupond | Delko Marseille Provence | +8' 47'' |
| 97 | Stefan Denifl | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 98 | Carlos Barbero | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 99 | Pirmin Lang | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
| 100 | Stijn Steels | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 101 | Miguel Ángel Benito | Caja Rural | s.t. |
| 102 | Fabien Grellier | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 103 | Thibault Ferasse | Armée de Terre | s.t. |
| 104 | Ludwig De Winter | Wallonie Bruxelles | +8' 57'' |
| 105 | Antoine Demoitié | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | +8' 59'' |
| 106 | Fredrik Ludvigsson | Giant-Alpecin | +9' 57'' |
| 107 | Yannis Yssaad | Armée de Terre | +15' 04'' |
| 108 | Jérémy Maison | FDJ | s.t. |
| 109 | Davide Martinelli | Etixx-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 110 | Thomas Deruette | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 111 | Fumiyuki Beppu | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 112 | Jérôme Mainard | Armée de Terre | s.t. |
| 113 | Jef Van Meirhaeghe | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 114 | Reinier Honig | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 115 | Etienne van Empel | Roompot Oranje Peloton | s.t. |
| 116 | Benoît Vaugrenard | FDJ | s.t. |
| 117 | Olivier Pardini | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 118 | Caleb Fairly | Giant-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 119 | Simon Pellaud | IAM Cycling | +17' 54'' |
| 120 | Otto Vergaerde | Topsport Vlaanderen | +20' 48'' |
| 121 | Ruben Pols | Topsport Vlaanderen | +21' 49'' |
| 122 | Sander Helven | Topsport Vlaanderen | +23' 50'' |
La Drôme Classic map and profile:
2016 Drôme Classic map
2016 Drôme Classic profile
2016 Drôme Classic photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:
Trek-Segafredo is presented before the race
Frank Schleck heads to the start
One of the race's climbs
A break tries to stay clear
FDJ swarms to the front
Jeremy Cornu
Jan Bakelants tries to get the jump on Petr Vakoc in the sprint
But Vakoc has the edge today
And takes the race
Another pic of the finish
The field sprint. FDJ's Arthur Vichot is third, beating Cofidis' Julien Simon
Further back Angelo Tulik finishes
Romain Bardet after the race
Arthur Vichot
Petr Vakoc enjoys the day
The podium, from left: Jan Bakelants (2nd), Petr Vakoc and Arthur Vichot (3rd)
Startlist with back numbers, February 27:
| AG2R-LA MONDIALE | |
| 1 | DUMOULIN Samuel |
| 2 | BAKELANTS Jan |
| 3 | BONNAFOND Guillaume |
| 4 | DOMONT Axel |
| 5 | LATOUR Pierre-Roger |
| 6 | BARDET Romain |
| 7 | GAUTIER Cyril |
| 8 | GASTAUER Ben |
| BMC | |
| 11 | ATAPUMA Jhon Darwin |
| 12 | DENNIS Rohan |
| 13 | MOINARD Amaël |
| 14 | SANCHEZ Samuel |
| 15 | SENNI Manuel |
| 16 | TEUNS Dylan |
| 17 | VLIEGEN Loïc |
| 18 | WYSS Danilo |
| FDJ | |
| 21 | COURTEILLE Arnaud |
| 22 | GENIEZ Alexandre |
| 23 | LECUISINIER Pierre-Henri |
| 24 | MAISON Jérémy |
| 25 | EIKING Odd Christian |
| 26 | PICHON Laurent |
| 27 | VAUGRENARD Benoît |
| 28 | VICHOT Arthur |
| GIANT-ALPECIN | |
| 31 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias |
| 32 | FAIRLY Caleb |
| 34 | SKJOESTAD LUNKE Sindre |
| 35 | CHENG Ji |
| 36 | JONES Carter |
| 37 | LUDVIGSSON Fredrik |
| 38 | OOMEN Sam |
| ORICA-GREENEDGE | |
| 42 | ALBASINI Michael |
| 43 | YATES Simon |
| 44 | YATES Adam |
| 45 | MEIER Christian |
| 46 | CHAVES Johan Esteban |
| 47 | MEZGEC Luka |
| 48 | TXURRUKA Amets |
| TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
| 51 | ALAFACI Eugenio |
| 52 | ARREDONDO Julian |
| 53 | BEPPU Fumiyuki |
| 54 | BERNARD Julien |
| 55 | DIDIER Laurent |
| 56 | REIJNEN Kiel |
| 57 | SCHLECK Frank |
| 58 | ZOIDL Riccardo |
| IAM CYCLING | |
| 61 | CHEVRIER Clement |
| 62 | CLEMENT Stef |
| 63 | DENIFL Stefan |
| 64 | WARBASSE Larry |
| 65 | LANG Pirmin |
| 66 | PELLAUD Simon |
| 67 | REYNES Vicente |
| 68 | COPPEL Jerome |
| ETIXX-QUICK STEP | |
| 71 | BOUET Maxime |
| 72 | BRAMBILLA Gianluca |
| 73 | DE LA CRUZ David |
| 74 | MARTINELLI Davide |
| 75 | VAKOC Petr |
| 76 | SERRY Pieter |
| 77 | VERONA Carlos |
| 78 | CONTRERAS Rodrigo |
| FORTUNEO-VITAL CONCEPT | |
| 81 | SEPULVEDA Eduardo |
| 82 | BRUN Frédéric |
| 83 | DELAPLACE Anthony |
| 84 | FEDRIGO Pierrick |
| 85 | GERARD Arnaud |
| 86 | FONSECA Armindo |
| 87 | MOUREY Francis |
| 88 | LEDANOIS Kevin |
| DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| 91 | CALMEJANE Lilian |
| 92 | CORNU Jérémy |
| 93 | JEANDESBOZ Fabrice |
| 94 | GRELLIER Fabien |
| 95 | QUEMENEUR Perrig |
| 96 | SICARD Romain |
| 97 | TULIK Angelo |
| 98 | VOECKLER Thomas |
| COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS | |
| 101 | HARDY Romain |
| 102 | JEANNESSON Arnold |
| 103 | MOLARD Rudy |
| 104 | SIMON Julien |
| 105 | TURGIS Anthony |
| 106 | PEREZ Anthony |
| 107 | EDET Nicolas |
| 108 | BAGOT Yohan |
| DELKO MARSEILLE PROVENCE KTM | |
| 111 | GALTA Frederik Strand |
| 112 | COMBAUD Romain |
| 113 | SISKEVICIUS Evaldas |
| 114 | DUQUE Leonardo |
| 115 | DIAZ Daniel |
| 116 | HUPOND Thierry |
| 117 | LABORIE Christophe |
| CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA | |
| 121 | RUBIO HERNANDEZ Diego |
| 122 | BARBERO CUESTA Carlos |
| 123 | BENITO DIEZ Miguel Angel |
| 124 | LASTRA MARTINEZ Jonathan |
| 125 | FERRARI Fabricio |
| 126 | PRADES REVERTE Eduard |
| 127 | BILBAO LÓPEZ Pello |
| 128 | CARTHY Hugh |
| ROOMPOT ORANJE PELOTON | |
| 131 | DUYN Huub |
| 132 | HONIG Reinier |
| 133 | HOOGERLAND Johnny |
| 135 | TOLHOEK Antwan |
| 136 | VAN EMPEL Etienne |
| 137 | VAN DER LIJKE Nick |
| WANTY–GROUPE GOBERT | |
| 141 | BILLE Gaetan |
| 142 | DEGAND Thomas |
| 143 | DEMOITIE Antoine |
| 145 | GASPAROTTO Enrico |
| 146 | MINNAARD Marco |
| 148 | SEYNAEVE Lander |
| TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| 152 | POLS Ruben |
| 153 | STEELS Stijn |
| 154 | VAN MEIRHAEGHE Jef |
| 155 | LIETAER Eliot |
| 156 | HELVEN Sander |
| 157 | RICKAERT Jonas |
| 158 | VERGAERDE Otto |
| ARMÉE DE TERRE | |
| 161 | BARBAS Yoann |
| 162 | PENVEN Clément |
| 163 | RAIBAUD Jimmy |
| 164 | GUYOT Yann |
| 165 | LEBRETON Kevin |
| 166 | MAINARD Jérôme |
| 167 | YSSAAD Yannis |
| 168 | FERASSE Thibault |
| HP-BTP AUBER 93 | |
| 171 | GUAY Julien |
| 172 | DASSONVILLE Flavien |
| 173 | FEILLU Romain |
| 174 | JAKIN Alo |
| 175 | LEVARLET Guillaume |
| 176 | MALDONADO Anthony |
| 177 | MENUT David |
| 178 | RENAULT Maxime |
| WALLONIE BRUXELLES | |
| 181 | PARDINI Olivier |
| 182 | DELFOSSE Florent |
| 183 | STASSEN Julien |
| 184 | HABEAUX Gregory |
| 185 | DERUETTE Thomas |
| 186 | PONS Gaetan |
| 187 | WARNIER Antoine |
| 188 | DE WINTER Ludwig |