Baptiste Planckaert (Roubaix) and Julien Duval (Armee) tried to surprise the favourites by going on the attack in the Tour du Limousin queen stage.
"The stage was long, especially with only three riders in the break and then two," Planckaert told Directvelo. "It ended well with the sprints jersey, I'm happy. This is the third time I come to the Tour du Limousin and I have experienced the greatest heat. Today, it didn't bother me.
"It is true that I am more of a sprinter than a climber, so it may have surprised me to be in fron in this difficult stage. I had permission to try to join the break because the protected riders were Timothy Dupont and Maxime Vantomme who could do the sprint. I'm going to work for them until Friday. On Thursday, I think it's more a finish that suits Timothy, and we'll see if it will be for Maxime on Friday."
"The day was very hard, I can not stand the heat," Duval told Directvelo. "I knew my time in front was limited. The aim was to be in front, trying to get a "quiet" day. I think it was the hardest day of my career. I really had bad times. As I told my teammates, when you are in front, you are always in pain. I had cramps thirty kilometers from the finish, I really needed the courage to finish, knowing that there remains two days. If it had been the last stage, I think I would not have finished. Now I will take it day by day because apparently it will be even hotter by Friday. We'll see."
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Lucas STIERWALT 22 years | today |
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