The contenders for the general classification of the Tour Down Under were expected this Thursday in the explosive finale towards Uraidla, and Rémy Rochas did not miss the mark. On the final climb of the day, the climber from the Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team even went on the offensive twice, crossing the summit in the lead. At the finish, he finally collected ninth place in a small group of favorites, five seconds behind winner Javier Romo. He now occupies eleventh place overall. A promising day with a view to Willunga Hill.
Put in the spotlight during the first two acts, the sprinters left center stage this Thursday to the punchers-climbers on the Tour Down Under. The ascent of Knotts Hill (2.7 km at 7.7%), located just five kilometers from the finish, made this stage a crucial first point of passage for all those aspiring to a good general classification this week. “It was a beautiful climb, to be done twice, and which to my knowledge had never been done in a race, introduced Jussi Veikkanen, a specialist if there ever was one in the Australian event. We had been able to recognize the circuit beforehand, so the guys knew the key places perfectly. The approach was quite technical, and from the first pass, we felt a little stress”. “For our part it went rather well, continued Rémy Rochas. It started to accelerate when we arrived at the most difficult part, fifty kilometers from the finish. UAE Team Emirates-XRG accelerated on the first climb and we have already lost a good number of riders.” After a first passage on the line, some were able to return to the pack and the battle for positions restarted while the breakaway duo composed of Geoffrey Bouchard and Fergus Browning was logically swallowed up.
“We can hope for a good result at Willunga Hill,” Rémy Rochas
“Placement stress has increased further ahead of the second stint at Knotts Hill,” raised Jussi. “The team did a very good job, especially Clément and Sven, around Quentin and myselfhowever assured Rémy. I arrived placed in the first thirty at the foot of the last bump, and I returned to the head of the peloton with the aspiration.” Eight kilometers away, the big explanation was able to begin and Rémy Rochas was in the front row to witness it and take part in it.. “There were some big attacks from the foot, then everyone needed to take a breathersaid the Savoyard. Kwiatkowski said to himself that it was the time to go there, and since it’s a bit of my reference tactically, I followed his wheel. We took a little lead, but I wanted to manage because Jayco-AlUla was racing hard behind. After that, we got caught and I got back on track. There were other attacks on the top of the hump, then I myself attempted a big attack 500 meters from the summit to try to extricate myself. Unfortunately, the ending didn’t really lend itself to that.” “Rémy tried, but it wasn’t necessarily the ideal moment, Jussi analyzed. He wanted to test himself, it didn’t bear fruit, but we will remember that he was quite comfortable on the climb.
After breaking away slightly, the Groupama-FDJ man was recaptured shortly after the switch, then it was Javier Romo who launched a counter that no one immediately supported. “I was mostly aiming for attacks on small clusters, because being alone, I couldn’t jump on everything that moved,” explained Rémy. The Spaniard was finally able to resist and win, five seconds ahead of a group of seventeen riders including Rémy Rochas. “I arrived at the last curve with a lot of speed but I was blocked by two riders who stopped their efforts a little early, said the person concerned. I finished ninth, I would have hoped for a little better but it still bodes well for the future. I told myself that there weren’t many of us able to produce real efforts at the top of the hill, so by being patient and on a very good day like today, we can hope for a very good result at Willunga Hill on Saturday. In any case, we will leave with that in mind”. “It’s a very good omen, Jussi confirmed, but we will have to channel ourselves well on Saturday. There will be no room for error because it will come down to very little. We will have to play it finely.” While waiting for the queen stage, Rémy Rochas jumped to eleventh place overall, fifteen seconds behind Romo, new leader. “We will have to stay focused tomorrowJussi finally warned. It’s a bit hilly, and five riders were ahead of the sprint two years ago on this same stage.”
