Cholet - Pays de la Loire: New Zealander Pithie wins first race of career

ADELAIDE AUSTRALIA JANUARY 14 Laurence Pithie of New Zealand and Team Groupama FDJ competes during the 23rd Santos Tour Down Under 2023 Schwalbe Classic Mens Elite TourDownUnder on January 14 2023 in Adelaide Australia Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images

Laurence Pithie of New Zealand (Groupama-FDJ) won Sunday's Cholet - Pays de la Loire (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) has staged a searing last minute attack to capture his first pro win in the Cholet-Pays-de-la-Loire.

Second in the Classic Loire-Atlantique on Saturday, Pithie was perfectly positioned in a chaotic, crash-marred finale where no team seemed able to take control of the brutally hilly, technical finishing circuit.

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.