Both finished safely in the peloto🅠n in the same time as winner Marcel Kittel (Etixx-Q♔uickStep) and so van Garderen remained in the same time as his overall rivals, 18 seconds down on Peter Sagan (Tinkoff). Porte, after losing time with puncture on stage 2, is 71st at 2:03.
The Tasmanian knows that he will have to take back time i🥂f he wants to fight for overall success but explained that the four short climbs on the road to Le Lioran is not the day to do it.
"With the downhill finish, I don't think you're going to make up much time but it's still a hard finish. You've got to take the initiative sometime but I don't think tomorrow is it," Porte explaine🍬d, warning of the dangers the overall contenders face in the Massif Central.
"We have done the recon, and there are a couple of nasty climbs in there. But also the run-in is a nasty, it's technical downhill so that could play♏ a part in it too. There's a bit of a kick to the finish so for sure the last 40 kilometre𒁃s are really going to trim the field out a little bit. Which is a good thing, it won't be so hectic as it has been."
Van Garderen warmed down and spun out the lactic acid from his legs as Porte spoke to he media at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:BMC Racing team bus in Limoges. He seemꦗed relieved to be done with the hectic sprints stages where victory can also award the yellow jersey or cost the big contenders vit💖al seconds in a late split in the peloton.
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"I'm really excited to head to the hills and get the GC sorted out a bit more. I think it will be a little less nervous and we'll get a sense of who's going well and who's not," he predicte💯ꦿd.
The American pre💃dicted the overall contenders will rise to the top of the general classification on the stag🅰e.
"Richie and I did the recon together and it's a tricky stage. It's not going to be as hard as the Pyrenees but🅠 it w🐲ill shake things up. You're not going to see Sagan and Cavendish up there."
Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
