Published on : 05/07/2022
The Cofidis riders showed seriousness and consistency on the course designed in the streets of Budapest on Saturday for the first time trial of this Giro. Tomorrow's stage will be a road race that should please the sprinters, including Simone Consonni.
These are the joys of high level professional cycling. To be able to discover places, streets and cities that you are not used to riding in, while riding and giving your best. This feeling animated the peloton all day in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, where a 9.2 km time trial was held. The weather was good, but the course was not so easy, with a succession of technical sections, curves and a 1.5 km climb to finish.
Tomorrow, a massive sprint in sight
Of course, time trials are not the Cofidis riders' favorite exercise, but they all benefit from the expertise of the performance unit, which is working to improve their competitiveness in this area. They did not lose out on Saturday: Guillaume Martin conceded 45 seconds to the winner of the day, Simon Yates, while Anthony Perez, signed the best time of the team at 42 seconds.
Tomorrow, the Giro continues its journey for the third and final stage on Hungarian soil. The stage will take place in Hungary, in the direction of Lake Balaton, the largest freshwater lake in Central Europe. The riders will have to cover 201 km without any major difficulties and the finish, in Balatonfüred, seems to be reserved for the sprinters. The team will do everything possible to put Simone Consonni in the best possible position so that he can make his mark and be part of the final victory.
THEY SAID
Guillaume Martin: "My feelings on this time trial were quite good, as was the result. I didn't take too many risks in the corners where I could have lost some time. After yesterday's stage, where I was obviously a little disappointed with the few seconds I lost, I didn't really know where I stood physically, whether it was the crashes or my physical condition that was at fault. I'm reassured about that, I'm in the game and I hope to have the calmest day possible tomorrow and arrive in Italy in the game, without any problems and let the serious things begin!
Samuel Bellenoue, Performance Manager: "During this day of time trials, there were no big stakes for the boys in terms of effort. For some of them, the main thing was to measure their fitness and to get a feel for the race. For Guillaume, the objective was to lose as little time as possible. Compared to the other leaders and considering his performance, we can be satisfied. He remains within the time of the best. The objective of the day has been achieved!
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