The AG2R La Mondiale riders John Gadret and Hubert Dupont were fighting hard in today's 13 stage of the Giro d'Italia, which ended on the Grossglockner climb. They finished third and fourth, respectively, behind José Rujano and Alberto Contador. Both AG2R riders are ranked in the top ten in the overall classification.
On the final climb, the duo was initially together, with Gadret eventually pulling clear. His gap was never large though, and Dupont came closer again in the end, accompanied by Euskaltel-Euskadi's Igor Antón. Gadret came home 1'27 after Rujano; Dupont was only two seconds adrift from his compatriot.
For Gadret, it was a big satisfaction, after a night spent less comfortable. "I was involved in a crash yesterday and I didn't feel too great at the start this morning," he said. He found his legs, though. "It became better as we ticked down the kilometers and I hung on."
It took him a bit to get his legs going. "I started the descent of the Kasereck about 50 meters after the main group," he explained. "But I managed to come back on the descent, before the final climb." While he did not have the legs to match Rujano and Contador, he pulled clear from the chase group. "I attacked and I battled."
Dupont also confirmed his good form in the mountains. "I am content with what I did today. I measured myself to ride within my limits, like I did on the Etna climb," he said after the race. He had a harder time on the Grossglockner than his teammate. "I cracked quite early on the final climb, but I hung on and I managed to come back to the chase group."
He did not want to just sit in. "At that moment I decided to attack, to see what is going to happen." What happened was that Gadret joined him and the two rode together for a bit. "John then came up to me and I stayed with him, so I could help him as much as possible, before finishing up the climb by myself." Despite Gadret dropping Dupont, the two were only separated by two seconds at the finish.
Dupont said that you don't have to be superman to be close to the front. "This result shows that you can do something good without being in extraordinary form."
Directeur Sportif Laurent Biondi was equally pleased with his riders. "It is another satisfactory day for the team. If you find yourself in the position of fighting with the guys who contend the overall on such a difficult climb, it's uplifting. John and Hubert really deserve to be congratulated for their work."
Gadret is eighth in the general classification, 4'06 behind Contador. Dupont is tenth, 4'38 back. With more mountains to come, the AG2R duo hopes to move up in the overall still.