Published on : 05/18/2023
In a time trial that he loves, Benjamin Thomas was able to respond this afternoon in Dunkerque. He signed the 11th victory for the Cofidis team and took the pink jersey of leader. With the whole team, he will do everything to keep it until Sunday!
He was expected, he was favourite and he was there. Benjamin Thomas was one of the last riders to start on the 16 kilometre course in Saint-Quentin this afternoon. And the Cofidis rider has done a very complete time trial. He took the lead in all the intermediate points and won without giving any chance to his rivals. More regular, more constant than his rivals, Benjamin Thomas wins with 9 seconds advantage on Niklas Larsen.
Bringing the (pink) jersey home
This success is particularly symbolic for Benjamin: it was on the roads of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque that he won his first professional race six years ago. This is his 9th victory, the 11th for the Cofidis team this season. From now on, the whole team will try to protect him and to consolidate his pink leader jersey.
It will be a difficult task, but all his team-mates are determined to do it until the end of the race. The 4 Jours de Dunkerque is obviously a special race for Cofidis and Benjamin recognises that he has to give it his all until the end.
ON THE SPOT REACTIONS
Benjamin Thomas: "I've been waiting for a good time for a while. I am particularly happy to have found my sensations in this exercise. Winning here has a special flavour, especially as this is where I won my first race six years ago. The objective now is to bring back the leader's pink jersey. We have a strong team with Max, Piet, Victor, Alexis, Christopher and Jelle. We will have to avoid the traps, especially on the cobbles. I have a comfortable lead but we should not relax and not hesitate to attack if necessary to defend the jersey.
Alain Deloeuil, sport director: "This success is good for us and it allows us to restart our victory counter. It's great for Benjamin who has been slow to show the extent of his talent since the beginning of the season. It's all the more interesting as it was a time trial, so it was his favourite event. And he did a great time trial! It also validates all the work that has been done on time trials by our performance unit. We have a very good Look bike for time trials, ideal for high level performances. From now on, we will focus on fighting to keep the jersey. We won a stage but not the 4 Days! It's up to us to give ourselves the means to do it!
