A day after he survived a general classification challenge from one of the best time trialists in the world at the Tour of California's Folsom time trial, Etixx-Quickstep's Julian Alaphilippe passed another test on Saturday, fending off an onslaught of attacks on a hilly circuit from Santa Rosa to the Pacific coast and back.
The 23-year-old Frenchman is just one stage away from claiming his first general classification win as a professional, needing to make it through a very flat Sacramento stage on Sunday before he can claim the final victory.
"I hope it's going to be more easy than today, because it was really hard," he said in the press conference following Saturday's stage. "The first part of the race was always à bloc. Fortunately, it is the last stage tomorrow and we will see."
ADVERTISEMENT
The Sacramento circuit doesn't offer much opportunity for any rider hoping to usurp Alaphilppe's lead. The flat parcours is almost guaranteed to produce a bunch sprint, although the last time the race came to Scaramento crosswinds blowing through the agricultural fields around the state's capitol produced a short-lived split.
Fortunately for Alaphilippe, he's on Belgian team packed with tough and experienced Classics riders who can help keep him safe.
"I can win the race for sure, but I can also lose the race," he said. "I'm confident in my team because I have strong big guys for the flat stage, and we will do our best. I hope it's going to be a good day for my team and also for me. I've never won a general classification in my young career, so it's going to be my first good win. So I can be happy, but it's not finished."
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/27MZgkO
No comments:
Post a Comment