Marc Sarreau: «We have complete confidence.»
«This is the first time in my professional career that I've won three races in a row. It's hugely satisfying, especially as the signs weren't necessarily positive when I arrived. I'm surrounded by a great team, on courses that suit me, and with each victory, my confidence grows. The day before, I'm not sure I would have taken the same initiatives if I hadn't won on the first day. It's all coming together and it's incredible.
In the afternoon, in the time trial, I gave it my all until halfway through the race. When I saw that I was losing time, I eased off so that I could save my energy for tomorrow. Then I got a puncture, so I have no regrets about losing the leader's jersey.
Tomorrow, there is still a great card to play.
The figure
10
By winning his third stage in three days, Marc Sarreau secured the 10th victory of the season for the AG2R CITROËN team and his fourth victory of the season.
The information
Vuelta a España (Stage 6): Ben O'Connor finishes 15th in the stage and overall
Ben O'Connor finished 15th in the sixth stage of the Vuelta a Espana. He moved up 19 places in the general classification, where he is now 15th. «I didn't have the best legs, but more importantly, I had a puncture before the final climb and that disrupted me. I lost energy there, which is why I had to hang on at the end. I finished with the favourites, so everything is fine. I hope to feel better in the coming days,» said Ben O'Connor.
«We had another crazy day, in difficult weather conditions. Ben had a puncture at the worst possible moment, but he put in a huge effort to catch up. We limited the damage. It's a satisfactory result, even if the team didn't perform well enough today,» said sporting director Julien Jurdie.
Lawrence Naesen finished ninth in the first stage of the Tour of Germany.
Aurélien Paret-Peintre finished 10th in the time trial stage of the Tour Poitou-Charentes.
