Brussels (AFP)
Romain Bardet and his team AG2R-La Mondiale made a "satisfactory" team time trial Sunday for the 2nd stage of the Tour de France, responded the boss of the team Vincent Lavenu, whose riders conceded less 'a minute to the Ineos team, favorite of the general classification.
"This time, it is quite satisfactory because the other years, we lost more time," said Lavenu after the arrival of the stage where AG2R took the 19th place 1 min 19 sec of the winner Jumbo. "A minute and a half was the barrier I had set myself in. So it's positive, considering the absentees, the injured, we were not in an optimal configuration, but despite all the riders ran well. , have been homogeneous. "
Already handicapped by the packages of two of his best drivers in the time trial discipline, Silvan Dillier and Pierre Latour, the French team started Sunday afternoon with two runners reduced by a fall the day before: Alexis Vuillermoz and Benoît Cosnefroy, the latter wearing an impressive bandage on the chin protecting the five stitches he had been posing Saturday night.
"It was consistent, and it remains correct even if we always hope better.We have been in the match.Less than a minute (lost on the team Ineos), we say that it is honorable. the minute is very interesting psychologically, "said team sports director Julien Jurdie.
Groupama-FDJ, the team of Thibaut Pinot, and Cofidis, another French formation in the running, did even better. The first ranks 8th at 32 seconds from Jumbo. The second 13th at 53 seconds.
The Total-DE team finishes 20th at 1 min 42 sec, just in front of the last tricolor formation, Arkéa-Samsic, nine seconds behind.
? 2019 AFP