07 Feb 2021
Ganna doubles up as Kwiato seals second
Related riders
Filippo Ganna
Etoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard - Stage 5 » Alès › Alès, 11km
Filippo Ganna made it two stage wins in two days as the INEOS Grenadiers enjoyed a strong end to Etoile de Bessèges.
The Italian backed up his day in the breakaway on Saturday with the fastest time across the 11-kilometre course, winning the stage by 10 seconds over nearest rival Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ).
Michal Kwiatkowski also put in a superb ride to climb the GC at the end of the race, jumping up from fourth to second overall in Ales. The Pole ended the race 53 seconds back on overall victor Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal).
The time trial produced some classy rides, with Ethan Hayter's early benchmark holding up brilliantly for third fastest, with Owain Doull also clocking in the eighth fastest time on the day. Sixth place for Kwiato made it four Grenadiers in the top 10 times.
The Italian backed up his day in the breakaway on Saturday with the fastest time across the 11-kilometre course, winning the stage by 10 seconds over nearest rival Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ).
Michal Kwiatkowski also put in a superb ride to climb the GC at the end of the race, jumping up from fourth to second overall in Ales. The Pole ended the race 53 seconds back on overall victor Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal).
The time trial produced some classy rides, with Ethan Hayter's early benchmark holding up brilliantly for third fastest, with Owain Doull also clocking in the eighth fastest time on the day. Sixth place for Kwiato made it four Grenadiers in the top 10 times.
Reaction
- Filippo Ganna
"It’s been an amazing week. We have finished with two victories in five days, and now Kwiato finishing on the podium. It makes us want to dream even bigger. This victory is an important one for me and I hope to arrive even better in future races. We did some really good training over the winter to arrive here in good shape. The team is happy and I’m happy to continue like this.
"After yesterday my legs were painful but the dream to win again is much bigger than any pain.
"Now we’ll look ahead to the UAE Tour but this is a great way to start the season."
- Filippo Ganna
"It’s been an amazing week. We have finished with two victories in five days, and now Kwiato finishing on the podium. It makes us want to dream even bigger. This victory is an important one for me and I hope to arrive even better in future races. We did some really good training over the winter to arrive here in good shape. The team is happy and I’m happy to continue like this.
"After yesterday my legs were painful but the dream to win again is much bigger than any pain.
"Now we’ll look ahead to the UAE Tour but this is a great way to start the season."
