Valentin Paret-Peintre
"An important moment in my career"
"I'm really proud to achieve such a performance. Finishing fifth in a mountain stage at the Giro d'Italia is an important moment in my career. My family and friends were there at the finish in Crans-Montana, so it adds to the happiness of the moment. I was frustrated after my 13th place yesterday after my breakaway, I wanted to do better. I managed to do it with courage on this short and intense stage after the course was modified because of the weather conditions. I wanted to put on a show! With two climbs in only 75 kilometers, these were efforts on the breaker. I was able to hang on even when I was dropped from the breakaway group. I was able to come back once on the descent of La Croix de Coeur, but on the final climb, I quickly found myself alone. I fought with my weapons to resist the return of the group of favorites. It's crazy to live all these emotions for the first big tour of my career. It already makes me want to try again!"
"I wanted to put on a show!
The news
Aurélien Paret-Peintre, 12th in the general ranking
Nineteenth at the finish of the 13th stage in Crans-Montana, Aurélien Paret-Peintre is 12th in the overall classification at the end of the 13th stage, 3'20" behind the pink jersey Geraint Thomas.
418
The number
Valentin Paret-Peintre escaped for the third time since the start of the Giro d'Italia in this 13th stage. The 21-year-old climber, who is racing in the first grand tour of his career, was also among the escapees on stage 8 between Terni and Fossombrone and on stage 12 on Thursday between Bra and Rivoli. He now has 418 kilometers in the breakaway since the start of this 106th edition.
I am proud of what Valentin has achieved," said Didier Jannel, sports director of the AG2R CITROËN team. He bravely took the lead on this 13th stage after having already shown himself the day before. It was a stage that suited him well, with a final that was good for his climbing skills. He wanted to show that he could do much better after his disappointment on Thursday. It's a really good performance for the first grand tour of his career.
