Aurélien Paret-Peintre
«A dream day»
«It's a dream day. The greatest victory of my career. I fought hard to get into the breakaway and I succeeded. On the final climb, I hung on. I knew I could beat him in the sprint. Everyone knew that today's breakaway would certainly be the one to win. We couldn't let up. I'm now third overall, but I'm not getting ahead of myself. I prepared well for the Giro with an excellent training camp on Mount Etna with Mikaël Cherel. That work is paying off.
We'll need to recover first. The Giro is a race that suits the team well. We still have plenty of opportunities to win more stages.»
”We still have plenty of opportunities to win more stages.
Didier Jannel
«With panache»
«It was a stage we had marked before the start. But we still had to achieve it. Aurélien did so with panache and in great physical shape. He needed both to break away, with the help of his teammates. He then showed composure and calm to manage the stage.
The day had started badly, however, with Paul's withdrawal. This victory is a real boost for the AG2R CITROËN team.»
The information
Paul Lapeira, ill, forced to withdraw
Paul Lapeira, who was ill, was forced to withdraw during the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia.
«Paul Lapeira has been suffering from flu-like symptoms since the third stage of the Giro d'Italia, which forced him to abandon the race in the early kilometres of the fourth stage. He will take a period of rest upon his return to France before resuming training,» said Dr Cyril Barthomeuf, team doctor for AG2R CITROËN.
The 22-year-old rider was competing in his first Grand Tour. After breaking away during the second stage, the Normandy native won the best climber's jersey, which he wore for one day.
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The figure
The Giro victory is Aurélien Paret-Peintre's second win of the season and the third of his career. This season, he also won the third stage of the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var in February.
This is the fourth victory for the AG2R CITROËN team this season.
Nans Peters won the Trofeo Laigueglia.
Dorian Godon raised his arms in victory at the Flèche Brabançonne.
Clément Venturi also won the French cyclo-cross championship title.
