115 kilometers in the breakaway for the Belgian climber as the race moves closer to the Riviera.
Steff Cras carried the flag for Soudal Quick-Step on the up-and-down stage 6, after he managed to make it into the main breakaway, following a nervous first hour of racing, during which multiple riders attacked in the hope of going up the road. The Belgian was there together with three other men and taped out a solid rhythm, despite the quartet being kept on a tight leash by the peloton.
His adventure at the front of the race continued for about three hours, and even though he got caught just 20 kilometers from home, Steff focused on the positive side of things: “It was a nice day to go in the leading group, where I gave it my all. Unfortunately, I made a mistake on the first corner of the penultimate descent, where my wheel slipped a bit. I lost a bit of confidence there and the others turned on the pressure and I couldn’t close the gap anymore. It’s not how I wanted my time in the breakaway to end, but despite this, I take a lot of heart from this display.”
There are two more stages left and we are determined to do our best and try again.
After the breakaway got caught, a small group emerged on the slopes of Côte de Saignon, the last hurdle of the day. Then, over the top of the last climb, Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) attacked and took a gap that turned out to be decisive, as the Colombian soloed the victory in Apt, just a few seconds ahead of a small chasing group that included Valentin Paret-Peintre. The Frenchman, runner-up on the previous stage, made it back-to-back top ten results at his home race, after coming home in eighth place, and even managed to gain one position in the general classification with just two days to go.
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