Frenchman Romain Gregoire could hardly believe his luck when the lead group of around 12 riders took a wrong turn at a roundabout during the Ardeche Classic on Saturday.
The slip-up mirrored a similar incident at the Tour of the Algarve the previous week, where Gregoire was also present.
On Saturday, the mistake was made by the lead group, which included race favourite and defending champion Juan Ayuso of Team UAE Emirates. Gregoire, a rider for FDJ, expressed his disbelief at the winning post: "I have to admit it's a very strange feeling with these riders who made a mistake 300m from the line."
The lead group followed a television motorbike into a right turn when, in fact, they should have gone straight ahead.
The confusion at the exit of the roundabout saw two riders fall, leaving Gregoire alone and several lengths ahead of German Marco Brenner and Italian Lorenzo Fortunato.
Gregoire went on to beat them by three seconds at the finish line.
Bizarrely, Gregoire had been involved in a similar mix-up in Portugal earlier this year. "I was in the Algarve and this time I had no doubts, I took the right route. It's the riders' fault, so I'll try to enjoy it anyway. I won and that's what counts," he said.
