Marco Frigo and Nadav Raisberg capitalized on another aggressive NSN performance at Tour Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes on Wednesday, as the Italian recorded a season’s best result of fourth, while Raisberg extended his lead in the points classification.
Stage 4’s anticipated chaotic start materialized, and after Frigo had unsuccessfully tried forming a move in the early kilometers, an all-together peloton meant that Raisberg was able to take maximum points in the day’s intermediate sprint at Arlanc. Teammate Hugo Hofstetter crossed the line second to add to the significance of the green jersey leader’s points haul.
Frigo and George Bennett managed to place themselves in the day’s eventual breakaway, which formed on the climbs that sat between Le Puy-en-Velay and Montrond-Les-Bains.
The 12-man lead group never established a significant lead, with their advantage hovering around 1:45 for a significant period, which suggested their chances of surviving to the line after a flat final 30 kilometers looked slim.
Impressively, after a dramatic pursuit, 10 of them – and just Frigo from our team – made it to the final kilometer. The high pace ruled out the possibility of any attacks, and Frigo crossed the line behind stage winner Quinn Simmons (LTK), Finn Fisher Black (RBH), and Mattéo Vercher (TEN) following the sprint.
“We are here to win, and it’s good to know we have the legs, so it’s a step forward,” he says. “But, of course, I want to win. I played the final the best I could – it was a fast final, so it was quite difficult to make a move in the final kilometers. I managed my sprint as best as I could.
“It was a full gas stage from the start. We knew today could be one for the breakaway, but it could also be a good day for us from the bunch with Hugo, so we had to take both opportunities.
“The legs are getting better and better. I’m not 100% yet, but this is a good starting point.”
The 10 points Raisberg collected at the day’s prime means he now sits on 40 points, with nearest challenge Raúl García Pierna six points behind him. Two other riders sit on 30 points.
He says: “It was an incredibly hard start. I tried to go to the breakaway to take the points, but the bunch made it there together, and the team did an incredible job. Me taking the 10 points and Hugo getting second made it even better.
“Forty points is already good, we’re in a good place, but there’s still lots of hard racing to come.”