The Faun Drôme Classic marked the second race of the weekend in France. The riders faced 185 challenging miles over a hilly course with both the start and finish in Étoile-sur-Rhône.  

After the start, a breakaway group of seven riders built a significant lead over the peloton, where the riders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike were consistently well positioned. Once the first climbs of the day had been tackled, attention turned to the demanding finale. After the peloton caught the breakaway, Ben Tulett was among the riders to launch an attack. He was joined by Mattias Skjelmose and Lenny Martinez.  

Not much later, the front group expanded to eight riders, including Jorgenson and a strong Davide Piganzoli. With the climbs coming in quick succession, attacks followed one another at a rapid pace. After an attempt by Piganzoli was neutralized, the move by Jorgenson and Grégoire proved decisive. Jorgenson, who had opened his season on Saturday with a fourth-place finish at the Faun-Ardèche Classic, was ultimately beaten by Grégoire in a two-man sprint. In the finale, Tulett was unfortunately involved in a crash.  

“Second place is obviously not what I came for, but today I was beaten by a better sprinter,” Jorgenson said afterward. “Tactically, we rode a strong race as a team. At one point we had four riders in the lead group in the finale. That numerical advantage allowed me to accelerate at the right moment, but unfortunately I just missed out on the win. I’m happy with my form and the feeling in my first two races of the season. It’s great to be on the podium right away. I’m looking forward to the upcoming Italian races on my schedule.”  

Sports director Frans Maassen added: “We wanted to race more aggressively than we did yesterday at the Faun-Ardèche Classic. In the final hour, we aimed to raise the pace with Matteo, Ben, and Davide, and we executed that well. Ben opened things up with a strong acceleration. Shortly afterward, all three of them were in the front group. In the end, Matteo and Grégoire managed to stay clear, but Grégoire was just a bit stronger today. As a team, we rode an excellent race and showed ourselves at our best. We’ll take that with us.”