Gruel: "I gambled and I don't regret it"

October 12 ^th 2025 - 17:45

Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ): "I really enjoyed it. I was at home and the fans were cheering me on the whole way. I tried to go for it, but Paul [Lapeira] countered me, and I tried to get on the wheel. We went away together, we had a good understanding, I think we were both strong. We were solid, they didn't come in behind. Afterward, we were a bit silly looking at each other in the final. But I took the gamble. I told myself, 'Oh, damn, it's just a game in the end, I'm going to have fun until the end, I don't care. I want to win, not finish second.' I gambled and I don't regret it. But at the time, when I crossed the finish line in fifth, it was a bit tough. But hey, I had fun, that's the most important thing. They were telling me on the radio, ‘Don't crack, don't crack.’ I was dying to crack. But he (Lapeira) didn't crack either. He told me, ‘You're at home, it's up to you to take responsibility.’ Maybe he was right. I still believed in it, I launched quite early, I didn't want to have any regrets, but it didn't work out.”