No ambitions for the GC? Impressive Ciccone seems to pursue red jersey dream after all: "We'll continue like this"

After Ciccone and his team rode in the slipstream all day, Lidl-Trek took the lead on the final climb in Andorra. The American squad delivered the Italian leader, after which he accelerated. For a moment, he was gone, together with red jersey wearer Vingegaard. “It wasn't the plan, but I felt good on the penultimate climb,” Ciccone explained to Eurosport. “Then we decided to give it a try, to see how things would go.”

So, testing the legs, including those of the competition. In any case, Vingegaard was able to keep up with the acceleration. “I know the climb well because I did a training camp there just before the Vuelta. But I think the climb was too fast. You can save a lot of watts in the slipstream. But it was a good test in the end.” Two conclusions the American team can draw: Ciccone is good, and they have little to fear from Juan Ayuso.

The Italian couldn't get away from Vingegaard, and later the rest of the favorites joined them. The competition has been put to the test, but the relative strengths are not yet entirely clear. “I was pretty sure Jonas would be good, and Almeida has also shown that he is very strong. It's still hard to say, because it was much easier on the wheel than at the front. I was impressed with Jonas on his wheel; he was going very fast. I think it's going to be tough, but I'm happy with my form and that of the team. We'll continue like this.”