Fourth on yesterday’s stage to Orvieto and fourth overall, five seconds behind the Maglia Rosa: it’s been a strong Giro d’Italia thus far for Christophe Le Mevel, and he’ll have the full backing of the Garmin-Cervélo team in the days ahead.
“He is doing a fantastic ride. This is what he came to do and he is doing what he said he would do,” said David Millar at the start this morning. “We are 100 percent behind him now, and will do everything we can. He is super-motivated.”
The Frenchman will now be the team’s contender to try to take the Maglia Rosa in the days ahead, and to chase a top ten finish in the overall classification.
Millar himself led the race after stage three, wearing the pink jersey during the neutralised stage to Livorno and again on yesterday’s race to Orvieto. Things didn’t go as planned, though, with a crash requiring a long chase and his legs then folding on the final climb. He crossed the line 49th, two minutes 50 seconds back.
“I just didn’t feel right from the morning,” he admitted. “I think the previous 48 hours had probably taken more out of me than I had thought. The night before I just got back to the hotel and went straight to bed, sleeping for 11 hours, which I never do. That is about five hours more than my normal amount.
“I woke up not feeling right, and then the whole day was like that with the crash and everything. The team was fantastic, though. Anyway I enjoyed it, I just wish that I could have been racing at the front in the pink jersey rather than suffering and chasing.”
As Millar told VeloNation after a historic presentation on Tuesday, a stage win remains his target. “I might have to revert to my time trialling skills on the last day,” he said, smiling. “We will see, there are a lot of stages that suit me. I just need to recover a bit now.
“I always get this allergy problem in this part of Italy, I don’t know what it is – I have had to stop Tirreno Adriatico five times when I have been here. It must be some tree pollen or something, but we are not here for long. I should be better again once we get out of here.”