The Luxembourg Champion came sixth in Espellete, on the penultimate stage of the race.
A focused and motivated Bob Jungels set off on the 31km-long individual time trial which took place on Saturday afternoon in the French Basque Country, host of a Grande Boucle stage for the first time in 12 years. Best placed Quick-Step Floors rider in the overall classification, Jungels paced himself perfectly, powered with geometrical precision through the two checkpoints of the hilly stage, which included a 900m climb averaging 10.2% but kicking up at 20% in some sections, setting the fastest time en route to a remarkable result at the finish in Espelette.
Clocked in 41:44 after averaging a whooping 44.56 km/h on the relentless up and down course, Bob slotted into sixth place on the stage won by Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), for his second top 10 finish at the Tour de France, following the spectacular cobblestone stage in Roubaix. What made Saturday's result even more impressive was the fact it came twenty-four hours after a long-range attack on the final mountain stage of the race, when he gained two places in the overall classification after booking a place in a breakaway which survived until the last climb.
"It's been a really tough Tour right from the start, with a very stressful first week. I suffered a bi through the Alps, but then began feeling better and better. That was the case on Friday and also today, when I had really good legs which carried me to this nice result. All in all, I am happy with my race, because I got to learn a lot and enjoyed many great moments with the team", said Bob after the final decisive stage of the Tour de France, which came just a week from Clasica San Sebastian, his last race before a well-deserved vacation.
On Sunday, it will be celebration time in Paris, where Julian Alaphilippe will take it to the podium to be crowned winner of the KOM classification, but not before a 116km-long stage which will finish on Champs-Élysées.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
