Romain Grégoire was a host of the day, Friday June 7, during the sixth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Groupama-FDJ rider, who will discover the Tour de France in three weeks, took the breakaway of the day and found himself at the front for a long time. Up to four kilometers from the line itself, being the last escapee to be seen again by the favorites. “When champions get angry…”, he smiled afterwards, before going up to the podium to receive the combativeness prize.
However, Bisontin had hope for a time during the stage. “I believed it when the gap rose to more than 5’30”, he recalls. I told myself that I needed at least 3’30” at the foot of Collet d’Allevard to even have hope. I was four kilometers too long. » With a minute to spare, the savings were too low.
But he did the climb as he felt, starting first with Magnus Cort Nielsen (Uno-X), before letting go a few meters further. “I wanted to be an actor and opportunist, he adds. As much as I could do it on the pedal Monday or Tuesday, it has to go through breakaways to get a result. That’s why I got into the fight. »
“It feels ch…”
So yes, the gap could have been bigger if there had not been a small incident during the stage. A mistake on the route, the escape forgetting to turn left at one point. “These are the hazards of the race, he said. I could see on the GPS that it was turning left, but there may have been an error or work so we were following the red car in front. We lose 30 seconds or a minute in the process. It’s not a big deal, it wouldn’t have changed anything. »
“It’s unfortunate that the breakaway takes the wrong route, otherwise Romain could perhaps win”, thought David Gaudu for his part. The leader of the French team finished 19th in the stage, 1’31” behind Primoz Roglic, in the end. “I think I’m not at the top unlike some. But when we see my level last year and my level here, I think it’s positive for the moment. »
This Saturday, the sequence of difficulties should offer a nice playground for offensive runners. But Romain Grégoire may be a little tired to go there. Could it then be its leader’s turn?
