Elie Gesbert: "I have tried"
Élie Gesbert tried to break away in the final on the steepest parts of the stage, but the rouleurs that made up most of his group got the better of his intentions.
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On the line…
“I was lucky enough to be in the counter group when it came out. I had to hang on because it was mainly composed of rouleurs. I had to work hard to be in the group. The objective on the final was to anticipate the attacks of this kind of riders on the flat parts of the stage. That’s why I tried to take advantage of the bumps to try to get away. We went out with a small group, and at the back, as they say in cycling jargon, “I took a rubber band back”, and it didn’t work. I tried anyway. The motto within the team, between the riders and the staff, is to keep on believing until the Champs-Elysées. And that’s what we are trying to do”.
The debrief’
“We expected this stage to be complicated to manage for the sprinters’ teams and that a group in front could fight for the victory in Libourne. This was the case. A big crash after a few kilometres allowed a group of six riders to get to the front. A counterpart comes out on the difficult parts of Mont-de-Marsan. Élie was part of the group that broke away from the peloton at that moment. It was quickly clear that the pack could drop some weight, taking into account the fact that Deceunick-Quick Step had a rider represented at the front. Afterwards, the situation was doubly complicated for Elijah because of the relatively flat stage but also because the riders that accompanied him were mainly rouleurs. Mohoric was also very strong in the group. I would like to congratulate our three riders. The desire is there. Nairo on the radio often encouraged Elijah and Connor by saying “go, go, go”. The three of them are very close and encourage each other. They are involved. They jump into every possible shot, even Nairo on a flat section tried to go for it. This shows that their motivation remains intact. I want to congratulate them because they don’t give up”.