TEAM COFIDIS: GIRO - STAGE 8 GUILLAUME MARTIN, THE INCREDIBLE COMEBACK! pubblicato il 14/05/2022

 
 
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Communiqué de presse Cofidis
 
 

Saturday 14th may 2022

 

GIRO - STAGE 8
GUILLAUME MARTIN, THE INCREDIBLE COMEBACK!



During this stage, the Cofidis leader, 28st in the general classification before the start, took part in the day's breakaway and gave it his all. 9th at the finish, he is now 4th in the general classification, 1 min 06 sec behind the leader, Juan Pedro Lopez.
 



Today's truth is never the same as tomorrow's in a Grand Tour. Feeling a bit reserved since the beginning of the Giro, the first of his career, Guillaume Martin made up for it in a brilliant way on Saturday, during a stage where he was not expected to stand out.

Guillaume Martin, an outstanding performance

After 1134 km since the start in Budapest this long loop around Naples, was indeed designed for sprinters. However, 20 riders took part in the breakaway with Guillaume Martin in it, as the highest ranked rider of the group. As the finish line approached, he held on and managed to keep his pace right until the finish line. For a while, he even came close to the pink jersey. At the finish, Martin crossed the line 33 seconds behind the winner of the day, Thomas De Gendt.

A brilliant performance that allowed him to make a big jump in the overall ranking. He went from 28st to the 4th place, 1 min 06 sec behind the leader, Juan Pedro Lopez. A great recovery that pays tribute to the efforts of the Nordic team since the start, like the 5th place of Davide Villella yesterday. Above all, Guillaume Martin reminds us that we can count on him in the next part of this Italian drama, as only a third of the race has been covered.

A new mountain stage in sight

Tomorrow, it will be necessary to double the efforts to keep his good place in the general classification and to be among the leaders of the race. The task is going to be tricky: the 187km stage in the heart of the Apennines will be highlighted by the double climb that leads to the Blockhaus. A 13.6 km climb at 8.4% that has already marked the history of the Giro. There will be no time to rest in the last fifty kilometers. All of the Cofidis riders will have to show that they can be trusted once again.

Guillaume Martin

Guillaume Martin : « I didn't anticipate this scenario at all. I started in the last part of the peloton at the foot of the climb. Then I worked my way back up, I had great momentum today. I followed the move and almost unexpectedly found myself in the front. Once I was there, I just had to keep going. Honestly, I didn't think we would make it to the end, knowing that some teams would be behind. However, I knew that being in the breakaway on the final loop, which had a lot of twists and turns, was a good position. Most over, I would have spent just as much energy in the peloton. In the end, I took back some of the time I lost at the beginning of the week. I hope I won't lose twice as much tomorrow. But I will continue to play an active role in the race! » 

ALL PICTURES OF GIRO'S COFIDIS 

NEXT STAGE :

ISERNIA - BLOCKHAUS (191km)

Etape 7
Dossier de presse
 

 




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JARNO WIDAR VINCE IL GIRO NEXT GEN A MATTHEW BRENNAN LA TAPPA FINALE TADEJ POGACAR ha vinto il GIRO D'ITALIA edizione 107 - TIM MERLIER [...] LA MAGLIA ROSA TADEJ POGACAR VINCE LA VENTESIMA TAPPA DEL GIRO [...] ANDREA VENDRAME VINCE LA DICIANNOVESIMA TAPPA DEL GIRO D’ITALIA [...]