Kevin Vauquelin dug deep to retain fourth place overall at Paris-Nice following another selective GC day on stage five.
The Frenchman found himself as part of an elite chase group behind solo leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) on the run into Colombier-le-Vieux.
Finishing seventh on the stage amid the sprint for third spot, Vauquelin held station on the general classification, sitting 19 seconds back on the podium and Georg Steinhauser (EF Education – EasyPost). A second solo victory for Vingegaard saw the Dane extend his yellow jersey advantage to 3:22.
Oscar Onley also moved back into the top 10 overall after some selfless riding for Vauquelin – initially on the Cote-de-Saint-Jean-de-Muzols as the race split apart, and again in the final kilometres after the Scot was able to regain contact.
Earlier Josh Tarling hit out as part of a strong five-man breakaway.
Reaction
Kevin Vauquelin: “It was really really fast again and a lot of movement at the start. That allowed us to follow and not do too much work ourselves. We wanted to be well placed at the end as we knew they were really tough climbs. I think we weren’t too far from Jonas (Vingegaard) for a while. There were a few of us in the group and of course we looked [at each other] rather than riding. We had the group with Steinhauser and then Dani Martinez came back which made it difficult. There were a few big attacks at the end, but I think I did the best I could.
“I wasn’t feeling too bad myself but I did feel that we had a big day in the legs after yesterday. I’m feeling really good for this race and I’m still looking to do something in the remaining stages.”
At Tirreno-Adriatico stage four produced a tough run-in and a GC battle ahead of a reduced bunch finish into Martinsicuro.
Filippo Ganna sprinted to ninth place following a valiant effort on the run-in. The Italian pushed hard up the day’s final climb, holding on to the group and regaining contact on the descent. Ganna was among the first to open up his sprint with around 350 metres to go, but would be overhauled by the chasing pack. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-PremierTech) won the stage, while Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull – Bora – Hangrohe) moved into a slender race lead.
Thymen Arensman finished 14 seconds back as part of the next chasing group on the road, while Magnus Sheffield slipped to seventh overall on the day. The American now sits 42 seconds back on the lead with three stages to go.