Madesimo (Italy) (AFP)
Geoffrey Bouchard is guaranteed to win the Giro Mountain GP standings if he finishes the race in Milan on Sunday.
The AG2R Citroën team rider should be the fourth Frenchman to appear in this ranking after Louison Bobet (1951), Raphaël Géminiani twice (1952, 1957), and Laurent Fignon (1984).
"I was not born, I do not know them well," joked Bouchard who is, on the other hand, the first Frenchman to bring back the blue jersey, the color adopted since 2012. In 1984, the distinctive jersey was green.
The Frenchman (29), who has already achieved the same performance in the Vuelta in 2019, maintained his position on Saturday in the 20th stage, the last of the mountain.
"The breakaway suited me well," said Bouchard after the finish.
“The first descent was very technical, the DSM tried to take advantage of it. Romain (Bardet) wanted to widen the gap, he loves this kind of descent and the high altitude. It was good for me. Bad in advance. I went to get this jersey in several stages. The main opponent was Bernal but he has the Giro to win, he has other concerns ".
"I tried to make a good stage (28th)", added the future winner who regretted not having won the 9th stage at Campo Felice.
"That was the goal. I didn't go far."
© 2021 AFP