Mickaël Chérel joined the break of the day in stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, staying with them until the final climb. He then helped his AG2R La Mondiale team leaders John Gadret and Hubert Dupont defend their overall chances.
The decision to go in the break was for his own good. "Well, there aren't that many stages left to win. I came to this Giro to win a stage," he told Velonation after arriving in Macugnaga, 1358 meters high.
He felt it was his turn today to join the move that went clear soon after the start. "I thought that they would let us go clear," Chérel said. The special sprint Premosella Chiovenda was a good indicator for Chérel 's day. "I was first over the line and I felt really good."
The race started out dry, but a strong thunderstorm quickly drenched the riders. It made the race very hard in the beginning of the stage. "We were going very fast. There were a lot of roundabouts, so it was very difficult."
Later, the rain was on and off, but on the climb up to Macugnaga there was no more thought about staying dry. "In the final we did not suffer from the rain much, we were too concentrated on the race and the final climb," Chérel said.
Despite his efforts in the break, Chérel felt well on the final climb. "I was not bad. I struggled a bit when Tiralongo attacked but I was able to lend a hand to my teammates."
Despite not getting to his goal of a stage win. Chérel was happy with his day in the saddle. "The most important for us is a good overall classification with Hubert and John," he explained. "So today was a pretty good operation for us."
Chérel did not expect Alberto Contador to attack on the final climb. "The climb was rolling. Today he only needed to follow his rivals - on the other hand I think that tomorrow he will want to win the stage."
Today Contador could have won, but handed the stage victory to Paolo Tiralongo. "That shows that he is the master," Chérel said.