Over the last few days, the Team has been engaged on two fronts on the Asian continent: in China at the Tour of Taihu Lake and in Japan at the Tour de Kyushu. Two exotic races in which the Team shone with several victories. Enough to end the year on a high note!
In China, 5 flat stages awaited our riders, with many of the finishes expected to be sprints. Within the Team, it was our sprinter Jason Tesson who had been designated to play the leading role in these bunch finishes. After a 6th place on the first stage, Jason put in another convincing performance two days later with a 5th place on stage 3, with Geoffrey Soupe finishing just behind (6th).
After several places of honour, the winner of the last edition of the Roue Tourangelle finally raised his arms the following day on stage 4. After another bunch sprint, Jason won in Changxing and moved up to 3rd place overall. The following day, the final stage was a different story, with a small group battling it out for victory, including Paul Ourselin. Our rider finished 11th on the stage and did very well overall, finishing 7th in this 2024 edition.
The Team ends its Chinese adventure with a sense of achievement, including a stage win and a top 10 overall finish. The team also finished first in the team rankings, rewarding all the hard work they had put in over the five days of competition.
At the same time, the Team TotalEnergies was also in action in the south of Japan on the island of Kyushu, taking part in 3 short but hilly stages. And the least we can say is that our riders didn’t take long to show themselves off. Emilien Jeannière came out of the pack with just a few kilometres to go, along with Jordan Jegat and two other riders, and showed his strength to win stage 1. Our rider took the leader’s jersey, which he would never relinquish, while Mattéo Vercher won another distinctive jersey: the best climber’s jersey.
The following day, history repeated itself with a second consecutive win for Emilien, who once again showed his speed at Minamiaso to consolidate his position as leader. Jordan Jegat is not far behind (4th), as is Thomas Bonnet (6th). On stage 3 this morning, Emilien unfortunately had to settle for second place in the bunch sprint, by just a few centimetres. This does not, of course, affect his position as overall leader, and Emilien wins the Tour de Kyushu 2024! Logically, our sprinter trained at Vendée U also won the best sprinter classification.
With two stage wins in addition to the overall classification, the Team dominated this 2024 edition of the Tour of Kyushu from start to finish. Emilien took home two distinctive jerseys, while three of our riders finished in the top 10 overall (Jordan Jegat 5th, Thomas Bonnet 8th). Following on from these excellent performances, the whole team was also rewarded with the award of best team!
In Japan today, the Team contested its very last race of the season, rounding off a year 2024 rich in emotion and success! In both China and Kyushu, the team ended the year on a high, and can now enjoy a well-deserved rest with a sense of achievement!
