They expressed their joy and relief at reaching the top of Mont Ventoux. Esteban Chaves, 53 seconds after Ruben Guerreiro fell, and he was embraced by his teammate as a celebration of the – only – fourth win of the season of EF Education-EasyPost. Although the training was not successful this year, Esteban Chaves, despite being “unlucky” for Ruben Guerreiro, ran like a boss on Tuesday at the Giant of Provence. Chaves enjoyed his smile and said, “This team result was really pleasing.” This is how hard work pays off, and it’s great fun. Second, it is likely that the Colombian had the legs to succeed Miguel Angel Lopez on CIC Mont Ventoux Challenges’ list of winners.
It happened in just two kilometers, well before Chalet Reynard. Guerreiro had time to react to Alejandro Valverde’s first attack at 12.6 km from the line. His men were sent rolling in vain. Aleksandr Riabushenko, the last survivor from the breakaway (Astana), to join. To fly away. “Our plan was to get tougher running as Movistar wasn’t doing it enough. Although I was unsure if I would be able to finish the attack, I did it anyway.
The Portuguese waited long in the sights Michael Storer (Groupama FDJ), and at twenty, thirty seconds, the Portuguese took full benefit of the Colombian’s work. Without taking even the slightest relay, the Portuguese remained like a leech in the wheel the Australian. The rest of the story is written on the board: Guerreiro increases the gap, Storer is tired and Chaves crucifies Storer at two terminals to pick second place. The Australian admitted that they had “got me tactically”, despite expecting to perform better on the Criterium du Dauphine (40th overall). Editor’s note “I tried to manage the effort but it was too fast for me when Chaves attacked.
Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), 5th, and best Frenchman admitted that EF was too strong to handle today. The jersey was spotted by mineral salts. The Norman was unable to follow Guerreiro’s attack after the Giro. However, he made a great climb in a group that included Tobias Halland Johannessen (4th Uno X), Cristian Rod (6th TotalEnergies) as well as Carlos Verona (7th Movistar). “Everyone in this group was a little on the edge and nobody wanted to be backlash.
The boosted Ruben Guerreiro was determined to lift his arms for the first ever time since October 11, 2020. He also completed the 9th stage. This was the fourth fastest ascent since 2000!
“I fought a lot last season. While I was fine on the Giro, I suffered an unfortunate fall and couldn’t find my legs during the Tour de France. “I worked very hard to get back at this level,” exclaimed the Portuguese. As happiness is not a one-way street, Esteban is back at his best. This is a good sign, less than three weeks prior to the Tour de France. EF Education-EasyPost will shine this Tuesday with its magic doublet on Ventoux.
