Immediately, another rider in a light blue cycling kit joined them in a combined breakaway, instantly opening a gap of about 15 seconds on the peloton.
The two were Ben Healy of the Ireland Team and Alexey Lutsenko of Kazakhstan.
Huang Chong watched them break away but, naturally, had no reaction.
Although Healy's teammate, Ryan Mullen, also from Ireland, was in the five-man group ahead, allowing them to work together, trying to break away from the 90km mark and ride all the way to victory was still a bit too ambitious.
As this wave of attacks subsided, the race was now just 77km from the finish line, and a climb called the Côte de Bievre appeared before the riders.
This was a challenging climb: 1.4km long with an average gradient of 5.5% and a maximum gradient of 7.9%.
After Madouas's failed breakaway, the host French Team switched tactics, sending another rider, Kévin Vauquelin, to launch a fresh attack on the climb.
