Despite his finish line disappointment, Hugo Hofstetter recorded a result to be proud of after another strong NSN Cycling Team performance at the Tour Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes.
The Frenchman finished second on stage 5 at Parc des Oiseaux – his best-ever finish in a WorldTour race – while green jersey wearer Nadav Raisberg also matched that feat as he crossed the line in seventh to extend his lead in the points classification.
Raisberg was seen consoling his teammate after the finish, whose previous best result in a top-level race was third at a Volta a Catalunya four years ago.
“I’m a competitor, I want to win,” says Hofstetter, who was narrowly beaten by Wout Van Aert. “Of course, it hasn’t happened to me often in my career. Sometimes, it comes down to very small things.
“You always look back and are happy with yourself after you do a great performance, but I’m just disappointed because today was an opportunity.
“I believe that I had the legs to win – I really believe that if I was in Wout’s wheel, then I would have had a chance, because I passed Bauhaus and then I closed the gap to him. That means that I had the speed.
“But that’s the game. However, I look back and I’m proud of what I did.”
Raisberg’s previous best result in a WorldTour race came on Monday, when he finished eighth in Le-Puy-en-Valey, which helped him first take the green jersey.
By sprinting to one place higher this afternoon, he picked up 12 valuable points, increasing his lead to 14 points with three stages remaining.
“I felt so good, the team are doing an unbelievable job for me,” he says. “They kept me safe all day.
“I was following [Dorian] Godon’s wheel in the final. I had really good legs today, so I cannot complain. Seventh in this type of sprint with the guys who are here, I’m really proud. That’s a nice best-ever result, for sure.
“I’m just excited and super proud. I really hope to keep this jersey now.”