Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) battled back from illness to secure a fine third place on stage 20 of the Tour de France to Alpe d’Huez.
The Canadian came into the Tour de France on the back of a difficult Giro d’Italia and took longer than he expected to find his feet in the second grand tour of his season. However, he closed it with a solid ride in the final day in the Alps.
He formed part of an elite chase group after the Col de la Croix du Fer behind the day’s early escape, and on the final ascent Hesjedal combined with Thibaut Pinot to reel in lone survival Alex Geniez. Pinot distanced the Canadian before Nairo Quintana also moved ahead of him in the closing kilometres. Hesjedal hung on for third, however.
“It’s been and up and down race,” he told Cyclingnews at the finish.
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“Everyone said that we had three guys coming here for GC but that was never the plan. With what I put into the Giro and the build up, I would just take the Tour as it would come. It’s kind of frustrating to know that I couldn’t really prepare the way I wanted to in between the Giro and Tour because of recovery.
“Right from the beginning of this race we could see that I wasn’t on top of it and I tried to stay out of trouble. The form wasn’t coming in the way that I wanted and I hoped that I would feel better around half-way through the race, but it just wasn’t happening. I had some good days here and there and I helped the guys where I could.”
Hesjedal was deployed as a domestique thereafter, helping Andrew Talansky in breaks as the American sought stage wins and to recover a respectable place overall.
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