Michel Ries, with the best in the demanding second stage of the Tour of l´Ain
Tour of l´Ain
Stage 2: Saint-Trivier-de-Courtes – Arbent (150.9 km)
With the freedom to fight for a good place in the general standings, the Luxembourger Michel Ries once again gave prominence to the continental Polartec-Kometa, holding out against the best in the complicated second stage of the Tour of l´Ain, a 153.4 kilometre mid-mountain day with a finish in Arbent and a very complicated intermediate course, with up to eight climbs and many others that did not count for this secondary classification.
The stage, with the additional prize of leadership, went to Javi Moreno (Delko-Marseille) from Javi (Javi) after the Frenchman Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) was disqualified for taking a roundabout in the wrong place. A member of the group of illustrious people in the last few kilometres, where a great fight for the escape took place, Ries finally finished fourteenth, immediately behind a rider like Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energy), in the same small group that came within a minute of the winner.
The Luxembourger, who is also third overall among the youngsters with a chance to improve in the final stage, is the best Polartec-Kometa rider in the overall standings of the French round: 16th, 1:19 behind the leader, the same time he has with six other riders.
“We came back to look for the escape, but we couldn’t finally be present in the five-rider race that won. It was tried. Within our double approach, the search for the escape and the wrapping up of the leader, Michel was later supported, whose performance has surprised even me. So present in a small group, with a lot of quality, being so young…. It’s a joy. I am very happy with his performance and it is very positive to see him with such good legs thinking about the next Giro”, said the director Jesús Hernández.
The Tour de l ´Ain concludes this Sunday with a high finish at the Col de la Faucille. A stage that is not excessively long, 133.4 kilometres, but it does last at the end of a final ascent of 10 kilometres at an average of 6.5%.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
