Published on : 09/24/2026
On the queen stage of this CroRace, the team really came into its own. With Sam Maisonobe on the attack and finishing 5th, and Dylan Teuns and Clément Izquierdo in the top 12, the whole team put in a strong performance and still have high hopes ahead of the finish in Zagreb.
Following yesterday’s sprint and Lorenzo De Longhi’s fourth-place finish, the riders tackled the queen stage of this CroRace. It was a day marked by the gruelling climb up Skitica (3 km at an average gradient of 12 per cent), situated 22 km from the finish, as well as the final 300 metres, which were uphill and on cobblestones.
As they approached this climb, Lorenzo and then Valentin positioned Sam, Clément and Dylan very well. Right from the foot of the climb, a trio broke away, with Sam hanging on until the very last few metres before dropping back. He found himself alongside Dylan in a chasing group, 45 seconds behind the leading trio. Behind them, providing cover, Clément was in another small group 1 minute 15 seconds back.
And on the final climb, whilst Svarre clinched victory, Sam finished 5th, 30 seconds behind, a few seconds ahead of Dylan in 8th. Clément, meanwhile, finished 12th, 1 minute behind, making the team the best performer of the day.
In the provisional overall standings, Sam is 4th, Dylan 6th and Clément 12th – enough to go into the final three stages with great confidence.
Quotes
Evaldas Siskevicius
“It was a very tough stage and the pace was very fast in the second half as we had to catch up with the leading trio. On the 3km climb at 12 per cent, it was all down to our legs, and we’ve got nothing to be ashamed of in terms of our overall performance. I’d like to emphasise once again how superb everyone’s effort was; the race plan was followed to the letter, and with three riders in the top 12 of the stage, we’ve got every reason to be pleased. Now we’ll be thinking about the best way to race from tomorrow onwards to aim even higher.”
