The day can be perfect for approx Remco Evenepoel No on this 4th step Paris – Nice. Six second bonuses in the intermediate sprint, once again a very interesting collective performance, and finally a power sprint as usual to settle the favorite group and gain a few seconds at the summit of Mont Braulie. But apart from that fact Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) came to beat him at the post on the line, from the Belgian Saudal Quick-Step Also saw two dangerous runners like that Santiago Butrago (Bahrain Victorious) and Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) Slipping free through the fingers of the peloton In the final, Colombia won andAustralian yellow jersey.
4th stage won by Butrago, 2nd by Plop and Yellow!
“I don’t want to blame anyone, but…”
As a result, the Belgian champion “only” finished 4th for the day, and if he went 5th overall, he was still 30 and 17 seconds behind two escapes in the final. “I thought I was the third, but I was told that the plaps intersect“, he commented Eurosport. “I thought I got a few more bonus seconds, but hey it’s not too serious. Overall, it was a good move for us. At the end I felt good and very strong. The UAE’s strategy was a bit odd, dropping two of the boys in the top 10 this way, when they are four ahead at home in the general classification. You can still hire someone. They did it at first, but Jai Vine stopped. Suddenly, two menacing figures took off“, he regretted.
“Seeing these two men 30 and 17 seconds ahead of me is not a gift before heading into the weekend“, followed Remco Evenepoel. “They are good climbers, in good condition. We have to think of a good strategy now, hope that the other teams will also step up and not let them go again. I don’t want to blame anyone, but it’s a bit unfortunate for everyone. No one is happy to see this strong guy take 40 seconds out of nowhere. These are racing conditions that we cannot predict“, he concluded.
