BENOIT COSNEFROY: “I tried.”
“Facing Julian and Mathieu, I didn't have many options. I tried to sprint first to get ahead, but I knew it would be difficult for me. I gave it a shot. It was important for me that all three of us finish together if I wanted to get on the podium. If the group behind us had caught up, it would have been more complicated. And I'd rather be on the podium than finish fifth."
Key number
27
For his return to competition, Romain Bardet took 27th place, 32 seconds behind the winner. He will compete in Paris-Tours on Sunday as will Benoît Cosnefroy.
NEWS
Paret-Peintre 22nd overall in Giro
After finishing the fifth stage of Giro in 26th place, Aurélien Paret-Peintre moved up to 22nd place in the overall standings: "Larry (who finished 25th) and I were 500 meters short of making the breakaway with the leaders on the final climb. We were in contention all day with quite a bit of elevation gain in the end (4,400 meters), but the climbs were fast. I'm satisfied, I've moved up a few places in the overall standings, and I'm going to keep hanging on."
