Sam Bennett
« This victory is above all for my teammates. »
«My teammates made my life a lot easier today. I didn't have to think about strategy, they did the work for me. I just had to manage the last 500 metres well, so this victory is above all for my teammates. Normally, in a bunch sprint, you always have to watch out for the riders coming from behind, but this time it was a very different situation. I knew I had to be positioned 400 metres before the left-hand bend, because at that point it's very difficult to come back from behind. I just tried to hold on after that, but I had to make my move first. We'll see tomorrow if I still have any legs left, but it's already been a great week.»
The information
Marius Innhaug Dahl in top form
Marius Innhaug Dahl, the Norwegian rider from the DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE U19 team, leads the Three Days of Axel in the Netherlands after winning the first stage yesterday and the time trial this morning. Before the third stage, which took place in the late afternoon, he had a 37-second lead over his New Zealand teammate Carter Guichard. Estonia's Ron Rooni is fourth in the overall standings.
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The figure
Two riders from DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE are in the top 10 of the Giro d'Italia.
Ben O'Connor, 7th in the time trial, consolidates his 4th place in the overall standings and gains 20 seconds in the race for the final podium: « I rode with a 62 chainring for the first time. It was tough on the legs, but on a day like that you need the best equipment. I wasn't in incredible shape, but I had to keep up the pace and I did well, so it was a good day. »
Alex Baudin, who finished 31st in the time trial just behind Larry Warbasse, moved up three places in the overall standings to 10th: « I'm happy with my effort, compared to the last time trial where I didn't really manage to get into it. Now I want to test my limits, I'm still discovering myself. For now, I'm keeping up with the best. It's interesting to see how far I can go, while helping Ben, so that's great. »
Also noteworthy is the performance of Aurélien Paret-Peintre, the top French rider in the time trial, who finished in 25th place.
