205 kilometers in pouring rain, with cold temperatures—hardly ideal conditions for a leisurely bike ride. But for the professionals, it was all about delivering peak performance.
For BIKE AID’s new signing, Simon Bak from Denmark, the weather was no obstacle. He broke away from the peloton in an early escape group and shaped the race for nearly 150 kilometers. Along the way, he collected points on nine out of ten climbs—enough to secure victory in the King of the Mountains classification.
In the end, it was just a brief moment on the podium—a photo, a smile, a few handshakes. It looks so easy. But how can one truly capture everything it takes to get there?
Simon won the mountains classification at the Cholet Agglo Tour. Not an overall race victory, but a special classification in a major race. Yet, as so often, BIKE AID competes as a Continental team against WorldTour giants—the teams that shine at the Tour de France in the summer. It’s David versus Goliath. It’s like a small village club going up against FC Bayern.
So, the team has to find its own ways to stand out. The race in Cholet covered 205 km. Rain poured down all day, causing countless crashes. Our riders weren’t spared—Lasse crashed, Leo crashed.
But Simon was in the breakaway from kilometer zero, keeping himself warm by battling for every single mountain classification and securing points on nine occasions. After 150 km, the peloton reeled him in. Exhausted, he fought his way to the finish, dodging the many crashes on the final laps in the center of Cholet.
Simon made it to the podium. Shivering in his soaked kit, he stood there and created the decisive moment: BIKE AID making itself visible, standing on the same podium, in front of the same spectators and photographers, as the biggest teams.
But making that moment happen requires the effort of so many people. The support staff working tirelessly—preparing bikes, driving for hours, standing in the feed zone under relentless rain. And Simon’s teammates, sacrificing themselves just as much, only to disappear quickly after the race, shivering as they change in the team bus, without a moment of glory. That should never be forgotten.
The French professional race series consists of 18 one-day races in the UCI 1.1 and 1.Pro categories. For comparison: in Germany, there are only two similar races all year—Rund um Köln (UCI 1.1) and the Münsterland Giro (UCI 1.Pro). Foreign Continental teams are rarely invited to these events in France, making it all the more remarkable that BIKE AID will line up for three more races in this series in April.
