(Montreal) Italian Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) was at the front of the peloton with a few hundred meters to go in the fourth stage of the Tour de Suisse on Wednesday. It was then that South African Daryl Impey, a member of the Israel-Premier Tech team, opened the machine to overtake many opponents and end the day with the stage victory.
Posted at 4:04 p.m.
Israel — Premier Tech was very well represented in the final sprint with not only Impey, but also the presence of Dane Jakob Fugslang (18e) and Quebecer Hugo Houle (28e).
“You don’t get stage wins every day, so it’s a great day for us. Daryl was able to hold on on the last climb and he was excellent in the sprint. All the boxes are checked, Jakob was secured for the general classification and Daryl won. It’s a perfect day, ”launched Hugo Houle from the start.
The day before, Houle had told Sportcom that if he felt good during the fourth stage, we could expect great things for him and for his team. The cyclist from Sainte-Perpétue promises that he did not have a crystal ball for making these predictions, however he explains that everything was in place for this day to be a success.
“I knew we were going to be able to have success today (Wednesday). I felt like I still had a lot of energy in the tank. Once in the end, anything can happen and Daryl knew how to make the most of it. I’m happy with what we’ve been able to do since the start of the week. »
On the finish line, Impey was closely followed by the Australian Michael Matthews (BikeExchange – Jayco) who also tried everything for the stage victory. Third place went to Dane Soren Kragh Andersen, at the same time as the winner.
For his part, the Saguenéen Antoine Duchesne (Groupama – FDJ) finished in 102e rank (+8 minutes 24 seconds). His Swiss teammate Stefan Küng was also in the hunt for the stage victory, eventually finishing 10e rung.
“It was a nice quiet day today. I took care of Stefan in the final so that he attacked the climb in front. There was a big group for the final sprint and it was tough. For my part, I felt pretty good, ”analyzed Duchesne.
Having finished in the lead pack on Wednesday, Briton Stephen Williams (Bahrain – Victorious) remains at the top of the provisional general classification, only 6 seconds ahead of Dane Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal). Hugo Houle points to 28e rank and Antoine Duchesne in 87e square.
The work of the Quebecers is far from over as their respective leaders, Fugslang for Houle, and Küng for Duchesne, are in the heart of the race for the general classification, both finding themselves 10 seconds behind the leader.
“We have been working well so far in the peloton. The next few days will be very important, we will do everything we can to get the job done for Jakob and we hope to finish the week in style,” said Houle.
“The objective will be to push Stefan Küng to the front of the race in the next three days which will be very difficult. I will also try to accompany Sébastien (Reichenbach) and Quentin (Pacher) to try to get good results during the days in the mountains,” added Duchesne.
The fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse will take place on Thursday in the valleys between Ambri and Novazzano over 190.1 kilometers.