Published on : 09/03/2020
At the end of a tough stage leading up to Mont Aigoual, Jesus Herrada (2nd) is the only rider to have kept pace with the winner of the day, Alexey Lutsenko. Meanwhile, Guillaume Martin maintained his 4th place in the overall standings.
There are invisible signs that say a lot about what being a team is all about. A great illustration - this Thursday afternoon, at the top of Mont Aigoual: Guillaume Martin, who has just crossed the line and finished his endeavour, taps Jesus Herrada's shoulder in a friendly way and congratulates him.
Herrada is sitting on the ground, his body still tensed by the effort. All day long, the Spanish vice-champion did not spare himself. He was one of the first to attack at a short distance from the Teil, the starting city. Herrada has thus integrated himself into a fast-moving breakaway.
Guillaume Martin with the leaders
Next, we had to hold on. And when the winner of the day, Alexey Lutsenko, left alone in the lead, Jesus was the only one to respond. He crossed the line in 2nd place 55 seconds behind the Kazakh. This beautiful effort shows Jesus' qualities and strength, he who had won a stage on the Vuelta last year. At 30, the climber achieved his best result on the Tour de France. It was his sixth time participating in the Tour in his career.
However, there was no sign of competition between the leaders of the race. Guillaume Martin - who was able to count on the support of his teammates as each day - finished the stage in the peloton of the main favourites (27th). He thus maintains his 4th place in the overall classification, 9 seconds behind the yellow jersey, Adam Yates. Tomorrow's stage should bring a smile to the faces of the climbers. Elia Viviani, Christophe Laporte and Simone Consonni will be keen to try their luck again.
THEY SAID...
Jesus HERRADA (2nd of the stage): "
I am happy with my performance but obviously a little disappointed that I could not fight for the final victory. There were some very good riders in the breakaway. It was hard to keep up the pace but I am happy that I managed to stay well placed and finish in 2nd place. Right now I'm very tired! I'm going to try to recover well to be in shape in the Pyrenees".
Guillaume MARTIN (4th overall):
"We continue our excellent start of the Tour de France. We wanted to have a rider in the breakaway and Jesus did it. He was not far from victory and his 2nd place is a fantastic performance. We stayed well grouped and well placed in the decisive moments. In the final, I just followed the group of favourites. It was another good day for the team and for me! »