The 34-year-old put in a great ride backed up by a bold solo move on stage 17, which he spent in the breakaway.
Long before the peloton left behind the neutral zone in Chambéry, it was clear for everyone that the hilly roads to Voiron were tailored to a breakaway, making stage 17 the biggest opportunity for the attackers to fight for glory this week. As a result, the first two hours of racing were fast and incredibly nervous, as dozens of riders tried to zip clear and book a place in the front group.
Around 45 kilometers into the stage, a group of around two dozen riders, including Jasper Stuyven, escaped the peloton’s clutches and began building a gap. A couple of kilometers later, Jasper attacked to force a selection, which left only 16 men up the road. The status quo continued for the next two hours, when another series of attacks left just six riders in the lead. Soudal Quick-Step’s Belgian, racing his 48th Grand Tour stage of the season, was one of the most prominent there, spending a lot of time at the front as the sextet was trying to increase its gap on the chasing group featuring many of the sprinters.
After the intermediate sprint, Jasper sensed an opportunity and rode clear of the rest, quickly opening a promising gap of 40 seconds. It looked to be a decisive gap, especially with 15 kilometers to go, but things changed when the chasers bridged across and caught Stuyven’s former breakaway companions. That reduced peloton had a lot of firepower and fresh riders, and despite Jasper’s best effort, they managed to catch him just four kilometers from home.
I left everything out there.
- Jasper Stuyven -
“Of course, I’m disappointed because I didn’t win, but at the same time, I am content knowing I gave my best and kept believing in my chances until the end. It was only when I could see them behind that I realized they would bring me back. It was difficult to survive with that large group coming back, especially as they were well organized and had the strength to close the gap. I don’t have any regrets, because I know I did everything I could to fight for the win, not just in the finale, but the entire day, from the moment I joined the breakaway”, Jasper said in voiron, where the stage concluded.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
