Our rider is not far from the top ten overall at the Czech Tour.
Dlouhe strane, the 13.2km climb averaging 5.2% where Junior Lecerf won last year making an important step towards the overall victory at the Czech Tour, returned at this edition, this time on the penultimate stage.
Despite the breakaway of the day being the largest since the start of the race, the peloton had no trouble when it came to bringing back the seven escapees, on the early slopes of the ascent. Just like on the previous stage, the attacks came in the final part of the ascent, when some riders tried to put pressure on the yellow jersey. The fight for victory came down to a two-man sprint, and Andrew August (Netcompany Ineos) prevailed, extending his lead in the overall standings.
With the help of Mikel Landa, Mauri Vansevenant - who lost contact with the main group around two kilometers from the line - concluded the stage some 30-odd seconds behind the winner and remained Soudal Quick-Step best placed rider in the general classification, just eight seconds from the top ten.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
