Ewen Costiou: “The objective was to test myself in contact with the best”
Ewen Costiou took 20th place at the end of the 4th stage of Paris-Nice which ended at the top of Mont Brouilly, remaining in contact for a long time with the best runners entered in the “race to the sun”.
Photo: L.Pavy
“I respected the plan that Arnaud Gérard and Sébastien Hinault set for me during the briefing, namely: to test myself in contact with the best. This is what I tried to do for as long as possible. This was done in the finale with the pedal. I lost contact about a kilometer from the summit of Mont Brouilly. I think I can be satisfied with my day. I reached a level on this 4th stage of Paris-Nice that I had never had before. The riders who were present in the peloton at the top of the first climb were nothing but “champions”. I’m happy with my performance, after all I remain above all a competitor, and I would have liked to score a top 10. I placed 20th, but the final was really done to the leg, that’s why I can’t harbor regrets. I would like to thank my teammates for the work they did on my behalf. They positioned me really well in the decisive moments of the stage, especially in the bumps. The weather conditions were difficult with cold and rain which broke my legs, but I remain happy at the end of this first stage of Paris-Nice which presented some relief.
“I would like to underline the involvement of the entire ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team in order to put Ewen Costiou and Clément Champoussin in the best possible condition. He missed a little bit today for the second, but we feel that it will come for him. Ewen, himself, was in contact with the very best of this 2024 edition of Paris-Nice, he finds himself at the foot of the second ascent of Mont Brouilly with the leaders. It’s a real satisfaction. We can hope for good progress from him, and above all that he continues to seek great things. It’s a real satisfaction to get a top 20 with such a young rider on a difficult stage like the one we just experienced. Now we have to stay focused until Nice.”