Dynamic duo: The winning Decathlon AG2R breakaway; Nico Prodhomme and Paul Seixas
Decathlon AG2R breakaway riders cross the finish line in Lienz together, with Nicolas Prodhomme winning stage 5 and Paul Seixas in second place. Michael Storer was a force in the Alps again, taking a long-range raid to reclaim the race lead from Thymen Arensman and the overall victory. Michael Storer gives Tudor Pro Cycling Team a legitimate chance to win the Giro d'ltalia in two weeks time.
"I'm super, super happy with my week. I just wish it was a little bit less complicated of a race. I literally had to attack every single day. The guys were incredible today. We were a well-oiled machine, we didn't put one foot wrong, and I have to thank every single member of the team."
-Michael Storer
“The team wanted me to win, but I said, ‘No, Nico deserves it more than me. I know I’m going to get better, I know I’m going to have other opportunities to go for a win. He’s ver strong, but you never know. It makes me extremely happy to let him win today.”
-Paul Seixas
"This morning, we wanted to get in the breakaway with Paul to try to win the stage, and we finished second and first, so it's very nice. It's my first win, it's a very good day for the team."
-Nico Prodhomme secures his first win at 28.
Derek Gee pulled off another impressive performance to secure his third place overall. Jakob Fuglsang finished sixth on the stage, while Matthew Riccitello moved up to ninth place in GC, helping IPT to win the team classification.
"Overall, this has been a really good day for the team. We kept the guys who were fighting for the podium close to us and on the final climb. I had good legs and as a bonus we managed to ride Matthew into top 10 in the GC.
We thought it would be a good idea to have a rider in the front in case the race exploded again. I made it into the right move and in the end, we got a big enough gap to play for the victory and I gave it a go. Unfortunately, the final climb was just too steep for me at this point. However, I'm happy with how the legs felt today and now I'm looking forward to racing with this group in the Giro d'ltalia with a lot of confidence."
-Derek Gee
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