Just like the day before in the opening stage, young neopro Hugo Page was again among the fastest riders in the peloton of the Critérium du Dauphiné (2.UWT) in the second stage this Monday.
The 20 year old rider followed the peloton on the long climb Col du Mezillhac in company of five teammates, with the breakaway maintaining an advantage of 2 minutes 40 kilometer before the finish.
Behind the five escapees who sprinted for the victory, Hugo Page was the third fastest rider of the peloton. With this eighth place in Brives-Charensac he took his second successive top ten.
« In the first two stages of this Dauphiné I was the protected rider within the team in case of a sprint. Today was only my fifth race day on World Tour level, so I feel honored to receive the confidence of the team in such an important race. In both stages I was well surrounded by my teammates until the approach to the sprint. Because of the high pace on the last climb the final was more demanding than yesterday, which had an influence on the sprint. » « I fought to be in the slipstream of Wout Van Aert and I wanted to stay there as long as possible. In the final meters I came out of it and finished third in the peloton. The breakaway was very strong today and for myself it was a pity that they managed to stay ahead. Otherwise a podium might have been possible. Even though I desire for more, I can be satisfied with these result. It is difficult to do better against guys like Van Aert and Hayter, I’m not a pure sprinter. » « Also uphill I feel good, so I’m convinced that I’ll be able to play a role for Jan Hirt and Louis Meintjes starting from tomorrow. We have a nice team here and I think that the other young riders, like Kobe Goossens and Laurens Huys, will show more this week. I will focus on Friday, as another sprint opportunity probably awaits us there. »
