Sam Bennett
" This victory is above all for my teammates ".
"My team-mates made my life a lot easier today. I didn't have to think about strategy, they did the work for me. I just had to manage the last five hundred metres well, so this victory is above all for my team-mates. Normally, in a bunch sprint, you always have to watch out for riders coming from behind, but this was a very different configuration. I knew I had to be in position four hundred metres from the left-hand bend, at which point it's very difficult to come from behind. I just tried to hold on afterwards, but I had to launch first. We'll see tomorrow if I've got any legs left, but it's already been a great week."
The news
Marius Innhaug Dahl in top form
Marius Innhaug Dahl, the Norwegian from the DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE U19 team, is leading the Three Days of Axel in the Netherlands, having won the first stage yesterday and the time trial this morning. Before the third stage in the late afternoon, he was 37 seconds ahead of his New Zealand teammate Carter Guichard. Estonian Ron Rooni is fourth overall.
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The number
Two riders from DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE feature in the top 10 of the Giro d'Italia.
Ben O'Connor, 7th in the time trial, consolidated his 4th place in the overall standings and took 20 seconds off the pace in the race for the final podium: " I rode a 62 for the first time. It was hard on the legs, but on a day like today you need the best equipment. I wasn't in incredible form, but I had to keep up the pace and I set a good time, so it was a good day. "
Alex Baudin, 31st in the time trial just behind Larry Warbasse, moved up three places overall to 10th: " I'm pleased with my effort, compared with the last time trial when I couldn't really get into it. Now I want to test my limits and discover myself. For the moment, I'm keeping up with the best. It's interesting to see how far I can go, while helping Ben, so that's very good. "
Also of note was the performance of Aurélien Paret-Peintre, the first Frenchman to finish the time trial in 25th place.
