“From the first climb of the day I was part of a leading group of eighteen strong men. Later we escaped with five riders. With the presence of good climbers in the chasing group, I knew an advantage of less than two minutes would not be enough to dream about the stage win. I managed to manage my efforts well, so I still had the legs in the final and achieve third place in the stage. I’m happy with the KOM jersey and this result, because it’s been quite a while since I’ve last finished on a podium. After the Tour de France it was nice to animate this Tour de l’Ain and to guide my roommate Alexy Faure, first year U23 and top twenty in the final classification. Now I will enjoy a well deserved rest period before building up towards the last competition block of the season.”
