Visma | LaB very pleased with performance of American captains, but anticipates time trial blow from Evenepoel/Roglic

Visma | LaB very pleased with performance of American captains, but anticipates time trial blow from Evenepoel/Roglic

Matteo Jorgenson was very alert on Monday and finished third on the Col de la Loge, behind winner Magnus Cort Nielsen and favorite Primoz Roglic. The American of Visma | Lease a Bike, one of the team leaders in this Dauphiné, expressed satisfaction with his performance in the flash interview after the uphill finish.

"Today was good, I didn't feel very good during the day, but I was moved up very well, especially by Stevie (Kruijswijk, ed.)," the American began the interview with praise. "I chose Cort's wheel in the final. I wanted to follow him, my sprint was good, and I did my best. It was surprising how long Bruno Armirail held on (he was caught from the early breakaway only at the very last moment, ed.), because we really made the race from behind. The front was really strong too."

Jorgenson cautious in commenting on uphill dynamics

Jorgenson ended up third, while BORA-hansgrohe, working for runner-up Roglic, did most of the work in the finale. Their team was strong, but according to the versatile rider from California, this shouldn't be overstated. "The final climb wasn't tough enough to say anything about those dynamics. I managed to grab some bonus seconds, so that was good in the finale," said Jorgenson, who was pleased with his sprint.

"Quinten Pacher set a hard pace," he said in the context of talks about the breakaway. "We ourselves thought the breakaway would make it. They got a big gap. The stage wasn't super long, so it was hard to catch them. But still, it was a nice day that was under control."

Visma | Lease a Bike satisfied with performances by Jorgenson and Kuss, but wary of a very tough time trial

In short, nothing but positive words from Jorgenson. In the meantime, IDLProCycling.com hurried down the Col de la Loge to the Visma | Lease a Bike team bus (which, given the terrain, could be considered a stage in itself). There, team director Grischa Niermann provided some insights about the stage of the day (just like the day before) . "It was definitely the plan to sprint here with Matteo," said the former German pro cyclist. "He and Sepp are our GC men here. It was clear that those guys had to sprint for us on a finish like this."

Kuss finished thirteenth, his compatriot did ten places better. "Matteo did really well. We are very satisfied with that. We would have signed up for this result beforehand. It also gives some confidence heading into the next stages, but it doesn't immediately tell us what we can expect this weekend," Niermann hinted at the grueling final stages of the French stage race. "But we can say that we are in good shape, especially Sepp and Matteo. That's a very nice realization."

As we head into day three in Southern France, tomorrow the peloton will tackle a stage that resembles stage two in terms of profile (Niermann expects Uno-X to aim for stage success with Cort again), and on Wednesday a fairly tough time trial follows. "That time trial is of course something we as a team are focusing on," said the 48-year-old man from Hannover. "It's not one that suits Sepp very well. He'll just do his best, but it's of course a stage where especially Remco Evenepoel and Roglic will strike. They can make big differences there. Matteo can handle it as well, although Remco and Primoz really stand out. We'll just do our best and see where we end up."