07 May 2022

4 Jours de Dunkerque (stage 5), Hugo Hofstetter 9th of the provisional general classification

11th in Cassel, city of the 5th stage of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, flooded by the public, Hugo Hofstetter is this evening 9th of the overall classification of this event. Dan MacLay, victim of a second crash, this one not serious, five days after the one in Aniche, has been dropped.

On the line

     

“I tried to hang on as best I could, to smooth my effort as much as possible during the last climb of Cassel on the cobbles. The first part of the climb hurt my legs a lot and that’s where many riders accelerated. I really tried to “buffer” my effort as much as possible at that moment. I went back a little bit, and my mistake was not to have sprinted on the asphalt section – before the second cobbled section – to come back to Benjamin Thomas and Jake Stewart’s wheel, by hanging on. Indeed, behind them there was a break and I stayed there. On the cobbles I caught up with some of the riders, but it was obviously more difficult than on the tarmac. When we turned to the right, the gaps were made, and everybody looked at each other a bit. At that point it was a case of who wanted to make the effort, which meant no one else!”

Yvon Ledanois, Directeur-sportif

The debrief’

 

“Laurent knew very well that in case of a grouped finish, he would be beaten by riders faster than him. He is not the fastest rider in the peloton, but he is a good puncheur who is in good shape at the moment. We had to try, we did it and we don’t have any regrets…well, yes we do because we are not here to finish 9th in the overall classification of the 4 Days of Dunkerque. I also have regrets about this stage, but we are beaten by stronger riders than us, that’s all…”.

Riders