Jorgenson increases pressure after strong performance in queen stage Paris - Nice
Matteo Jorgenson reduced the gap to the yellow jersey to four seconds in stage seven of Paris - Nice. In the stage with the finish at La Madone d'Utelle, the American rider made a solid impression, resulting in fifth place in the day's results. Wilco Kelderman finished eighth.
Earlier it was decided to shorten the queen stage due to weather conditions on the original final climb. The organization decided to shorten the course to 104 kilometers, with the finish line drawn at the top of La Madone d'Utelle.
On that final climb, Jorgensen made a good impression. Every time, the American was able to respond to the attacks of Remco Evenepoel and the other competitors. After Kelderman took the lead in service of Jorgenson, yellow jersey wearer Brandon McNulty had to let go. He only just managed to retain his jersey and has a four-second lead over Jorgenson with one stage to go. Aleksandr Vlasov won the rainy stage.
"The team did an excellent job in protecting me today"
Afterwards, Jorgenson speaks of a good day for him and the team. "The team did an excellent job in protecting me today. Edoardo Affini, Tim van Dijke and Mick van Dijke made sure I was among the best five to start the final climb. It's a climb I know very well. I train there several times a month. Evenepoel attacked several times, but I was always able to follow his wheel, as the legs were good today. Wilco set the pace in the group of favorites in the final phase. As a team we can be happy with how we rode today. We didn't lose any time and even gained some seconds on some competitors for the general classification. Everything is still possible in tomorrow’s final stage”, Jorgensen said.