Benoit Cosnefroy: «You have to know how to recover»
«After my fall the day before, even though I had no consequences other than burns, I was not in a position to aim for anything other than stage victory.
On Saturday evening, we decided to play it safe because you have to let your body recover. It was the best option to avoid taking too many risks and jeopardising the next stages, even though I was only three seconds behind in the overall standings. It's a shame because the team was on top form every day.
This is my sixth second place finish this season. That's a lot, and I can't wait to win. I hope it will be at the Tour de Suisse, my next race.»
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Valentin Retailleau of AG2R CITROËN U23 won Saturday's fourth stage of the Alpes Isère Tour. The rider will join the professional ranks of the AG2R-Citroën team on 1 August 2022.
The information
Chérel ranks 23rd overall in the Giro d'Italia
Mikaël Chérel finishes 23rd overall in the Giro d'Italia.
«Of the sixteen Grand Tours I've competed in, this is one of the three most physically demanding. The course was very mountainous. I'm pleased with my physical performance,» said Mikaël Chérel.
«At the start of this Giro d'Italia, our ambition was to finish in the top 20 of the general classification. We're not far off, with Mikael Chérel in 23rd place.
I am satisfied with the overall performance of the riders. We were present in twelve breakaways over nineteen stages, some of which went all the way to the finish. We achieved six top 10 finishes, with Lawrence Naesen (once) and Andrea Vendrame (five times). The overall result is satisfactory; we had a young AG2R CITROËN team that played an active role in the race,» said Laurent Biondi, sporting manager of the AG2R CITROËN team.
