Video: Baptiste Veistroffer stops at supermarket during race and still finishes second

Summer criteriums after the Tour de France have always mixed racing with entertainment, but Veistroffer took that tradition a step further during the Critérium de Lisieux.

Around halfway through the race, the Frenchman pulled over, unclipped and walked through the automatic doors of a roadside Carrefour supermarket. Spectators watched in disbelief as the 26-year-old picked up several drinks before heading back outside and remounting his bike.

As he made his way back towards the peloton, Veistroffer called out to the laughing crowd: “I was too thirsty!”

The unscheduled shopping stop did little to affect his result. Veistroffer was brought back into the front group and eventually finished second, behind Normandy native Kévin Vauquelin of Netcompany-Ineos. Cofidis rider Paul Ourselin completed the podium.

Making his Tour debut for Lotto-Intermarché, Veistroffer quickly established himself as one of the race’s most aggressive riders. On Stage 5, he spent 144 kilometres alone at the front, holding off the sprinter teams for much of the day in difficult conditions.

It was the latest step in a rapid rise for the 26-year-old, who progressed through the French amateur ranks with VC Pays de Loudéac and the Decathlon AG2R development team before reaching the WorldTour. His supermarket stop in Lisieux offered a more playful glimpse of a rider who had already won over fans with his attacking style during the Tour.

Veistroffer was not the only Tour rider drawing crowds on the post Tour criterium circuit. Across Belgium, France and the Netherlands, several of the race’s biggest names returned to action in the traditional exhibition events.

Tour de France runner up Remco Evenepoel claimed back to back victories in Aalst and Roeselare, while mountains classification winner Richard Carapaz matched him with wins in Boxmeer and Surhuisterveen.