Fetter and Dina face off in a battle of illustrious names with their eyes on the Tour
32nd Tour de l’Ain
Stage 2: Laigneu – Lélex Monts-Jura (140.1 km)
It was expected that the passage through the Col de Menthières would be crucial in the development of this second day of the Tour de l’Ain and the forecast was largely fulfilled by the commitment of the Jumbo-Visma. The WorldTour group broke off at the start of its ramps a race in which a select group of eight riders stood out, with the breakaway having been definitively phagocyted. The Hungarian Márton Dina, in a third group, persevered to roll as far ahead as possible. The stage was won by Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, the new leader of the general classification, while the Hungarian of the Kometa-Xstra Cycling Team reached the finish line in 21st position, 4:51 from the winner, in a group with Tom Dumoulin and Andrey Amador led by his teammate Erik Fetter. With the exception of Nairo Quintana, from the continental Arkea, all the riders who preceded Fetter are competing in the World Tour category.
“Jumbo has started to pull very hard and has made a great selection,” explains Dina. The Budapest native rode all day very well protected by his teammates and in the last kilometers he found the substantial support of Erik Fetter, who rode from less to more and finished the stage in eighteenth place, thus managing to remain one of the three most outstanding young riders in the French event. “I’m not very satisfied, I would have liked to have been stronger in the Menthières. Then we tried to minimize the differences as much as possible. Tomorrow will be another day and let’s see if we can climb up the general standings”, concludes Dina.
“We tried to keep Márton as far ahead as possible when the pace started to get really high and the pack broke up in a moment. On the climb I found my rhythm and in the final part we were able to catch up with the group where Márton was riding to arrive together. Both he and I are in the top twenty-five and we can dream of trying to improve some positions in such a hard stage as this Sunday’s. The truth is that this Tour de l’Ain is making me grow a lot, it gives me a lot of confidence”, says Fetter.
The French race concludes this Sunday with its queen’s stage, a route that is the most demanding part of the 15th stage of the next Tour de France. The climbs to La Selle de Fromentel, La Biche and the majestic finish at the Grand Colombier will definitely resolve this edition. Erik Fetter and Márton Dina start in the general classification in 18th and 21st place, both at 5:07 from Primoz Roglic. The Andalusian Sergio Garcia will not be able to face this great stage: the rider left this Saturday the Tour de l’Ain after suffering a crash ten kilometers from the end.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
