Benoît Cosnefroy
"One of the hardest days I've ever had on the bike".
"I was frozen for the last 80 kilometers and didn't think I'd make it to the finish. It's been a long time since I finished in such a physical state. The team placed me very well at the foot of the last ascent of the Mur de Huy, after which I wanted to manage my climb so as not to regret anything. I'm already happy to have been in the first group, which wasn't easy with the cold rain and snow at times. But now I'm at the end and I'm really cold. It was one of the hardest days I've ever had on the bike.
The news
Dantesque stage at the Tour des Alpes
The race was also tough in Austria on the Tour of the Alps, a "Dantesque stage" according to Stéphane Goubert. The sporting director looks back on the third stage: "Fortunately there were only 128 kilometers, but conditions were extreme with rain and temperatures around three degrees. The team performed well, with a strong presence at the front, and at the finish we have three riders in the top ten. Now it's on to the queen stage tomorrow, with a start on a mountain pass before tackling over 4000m of ascent for 141 km of racing."
5
The number
The number of riders from the DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE team in the top 10 of this Wednesday's April 17 races. In the Tour des Alpes, Aurélien Paret-Peintre finished fifth on the stage. Ben O'Connor and Valentin Paret-Peintre were eighth and ninth respectively. In Belgium, at La Flèche Wallonne, Dorian Godon added an eighth-place finish at the top of the Mur de Huy to Benoît Cosnefroy's fine fourth-place finish.
