The queen stage of O Gran Camiño did create some damage on Saturday towards the Alto do Cebreiro, and the Groupama-FDJ cycling team unfortunately paid for it. Rémy Rochas was unable to join the fight with the favorites, and the young Maxime Decomble had to hand over his white jersey. The rider from “La Conti” now is thirteenth overall while the race will conclude in Santiago de Compostela this Sunday.
Nearly 3,000 metres of elevation gain were on the menu for the fourth stage of O Gran Camiño this Saturday, but above all, most of the climbs were to be covered in the last forty kilometres towards the Alto do Cebreiro. The fight started quite early, so much so that the morning breakaway including two riders was caught in the first difficulties. Several riders tried to anticipate the big guns, Clément Braz Afonso was among them, but the leader’s squad always kept things under control. In the first section of the Alto A Pitinidoira (10 km at 6%), twenty-five kilometres from the finish, the selection was ultimately made from the back. Coming into a short flat section, halfway up the slope, there were only about twenty riders left in the peloton, including Maxime Decomble and Rémy Rochas. “We were doing pretty well until fifteen kilometres from the finish, then things really opened up and it proved more difficult for us,” confided Philippe Mauduit.
“Maxime limited his losses quite well,” Philippe Mauduit
When the yellow jersey Derek Gee set off, the two men from Groupama-FDJ got dropped one after the other. “Rémy had a small physical pain after yesterday’s time trial, but he was also not feeling as good as he had been the previous days,” explained Philippe. “Maxime fought well for his first experience at this level, in what can be considered a mountain stage final. He managed it well and limited his losses, even if it’s not enough to match the ambitions we had this morning.” The white jersey wearer eventually reached the line in 19th position, 2’19 behind the winner Sergio Geovani Chumil, with Rémy Rochas finishing a few seconds later. “We can’t reproach the boys for anything, because they really committed to it and gave their all,” Philippe said. “Sometimes, it happens that we don’t achieve the goal we set for ourselves, but we keep on going and keep the moral.” In the general classification, Maxime Decomble is now thirteenth, and is also 1’13 behind the new best young rider, Viktor Soenens.
On Sunday, the race will reach Santiago de Compostela for the closing stage. “There will be similar paths to those we see on the Strade Bianche,” Philippe concluded. “It’s a profile where there can be some action, and we’ll try to get into the battle.”
