Clément Venturini 8th of the 1st stage
The first stage of the Tour Romandie ended on Wednesday with a sprint in the streets of Fribourg. Clément Venturini finished 8th. Raúl García Pierna was part of the day’s breakaway.
Photos : Getty
‘The overriding feeling is frustration. I fought hard throughout the stage to be in a position to challenge for victory in the final. In the last 200 metres of the sprint, I was locked in. There’s the disappointment of not having had the right opening, but that’s the ups and downs of a sprint. On Sunday, on the final stage, there’ll be another chance. Over the next few days, I’m going to put myself at the service of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team and help Cristián Rodríguez in the general classification, especially on Thursday with a summit finish’.
‘It was a beautiful day but also a very hard effort to manage. There was a good breakaway. We rode hard up front to keep the peloton at bay. We were caught less than 9km from the finish line, at the top of the last climb. After that there was nothing left but the descent. With a bit of a lead at the top of the climb, things could have turned in our favour. Over the next few days, with the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team, we’re going to help Cristián with the overall classification’.
‘I’m pleased with how the ARKEA $-B&B HOTELS team performed on this first stage of the Tour de Romandie. Raúl García Pierna was in a good breakaway. When I saw the composition of the group, I said to myself that it could really go all the way. There was quality there. The gap grew to 4 minutes and it almost did. There’s not much missing. In the final, a sprint is always indecisive. It’s a shame because Clément Venturini is a bit locked in on the right. If he’d had an opening, we could have had a top 5 finish’.