Valentin Paret-Peintre
"An important moment in my career"
"I am really proud to have achieved such a performance. Finishing fifth in a mountain stage of the Giro is an important moment in my career. My family and friends were there at the finish in Crans-Montana, which made the moment even happier. I was frustrated after finishing 13th yesterday after my breakaway, I wanted to do better. I managed to do that with courage on this short and intense stage after the route was changed due to weather conditions. I wanted to put on a show! With two climbs in just 75 kilometers, it was a grueling effort. I managed to hang on even when I was dropped from the breakaway group. I managed to catch up again on the descent from La Croix de Coeur, but on the final climb, I quickly found myself alone. I fought with everything I had to resist the return of the group of favorites. It's crazy to experience all these emotions in the first Grand tour my career. It already makes me want to try again!
"I wanted to put on a show!
The news
Aurélien Paret-Peintre, 12th in the general ranking
Nineteenth at the finish of the 13th stage in Crans-Montana, Aurélien Paret-Peintre is 12th in the overall classification at the end of the 13th stage, 3'20" behind the pink jersey Geraint Thomas.
418
Key number
Valentin Paret-Peintre broke away for the third time since the start of Giro during this 13th stage. The 21-year-old climber, who is participating in tour first Grand tour his career, was also among the breakaway riders during the 8th stage between Terni and Fossombrone and during the 12th stage on Thursday between Bra and Rivoli. He has now racked up 418 kilometers in breakaways since the start of this 106th edition.
"I'm proud of what Valentin has achieved," said Didier Jannel, sports director of the AG2R CITROËN team. "He boldly broke away at the front during this 13th stage after already showing his talent the day before. It was a stage that suited him well, with a finish that played to his strengths as a climber. He wanted to show that he was capable of doing much better after his disappointment on Thursday. It's a really great performance for the first Grand tour his career."
