Wednesday's stage saw the young Frenchman time trial his way to fourth in both the day's rankings and the general classification.
After two flat stages, won by Quick-Step Floors' Fernando Gaviria and Tom Boonen, Vuelta a San Juan scheduled an individual time trial on a 11.9km course which favoured the specialists, as it was pan flat and non-technical. The stage was expected to weigh heavily in the outcome of the Argentinean race, especially as the mountain top finish of Alto Colorado, which will feature later in the week, is the only other day that can witness significant gaps between the blue jersey contenders.
Klein Constantia alumni and two-time U23 National ITT Champion Rémi Cavagna was the best Quick-Step Floors Team rider at the end of the stage, after putting in a very solid and impressive performance. Cavagna stopped the clock in 14:10, seven seconds behind stage winner Ramunas Navardauskas (Bahrain-Merida), and just one tenth of a second shy of the podium, thus seizing the green jersey.
"I am very happy after this stage, it's incredible to come so close to the podium in my first pro time trial. The course was flat, but the headwind made things difficult in the second part of the race and I lost some time there, but it's not the end of the world. Other chances will come this season, I'm sure of that" said 21-year-old Rémi Cavagna, who is now leading the youth classification, while at the same time lying in fourth place in the overall standings. "To finish ahead of many seasoned World Tour riders is just great, and this result boosts my confidence for the next stages of the race!"
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
