After the great win yesterday and already looking forward to the next possible sprint stage tomorrow, today was a day without pressure for BORA – hansgrohe in Paris – Nice.
Today’s 4th stage of Paris – Nice was an individual time trial. The course between Beaujeu and Mont Brouilly was 14.5 kilometers long and exceptionally hilly with an uphill finish, 3.5k long and up to 13% steep. A tough challenge for the GC riders in the race and a good opportunity for Patrick Konrad to test his legs.
The young Austrian had an early start after he lost already some minutes in the first two stages. On almost wet roads, he had a disadvantage to the later starters when the course started to dry druing the race. In the end he finished the stage in 27th place, 1:17 down on G. Alaphilippe.
For BORA – hansgrohe the focus was already on tomorrows stage between Quincié-en-Beaujolais and Bourg-de-Péage were another sprint finish is expected. With the boost in confidence after the win from Sam Bennett yesterday, the team will again have the chance to go for a stage win. With two categorized climbs and an overall hilly parkour, the stage’s character should suit the Irish sprinter.
“I think it was a solid performance. The time gaps were really close, a few seconds faster and I would have been around the top ten. I think on dry roads this would have been possible. I think I judged my rhythm pretty good because I had enough power to push on the final climb but was really on the limit in the last 500m. So, there is nothing to regret from my side.” – Patrick Konrad
