Pöstlberger defends Dauphine’s lead in time trial

Professional cyclist Lukas Pöstlberger defended the lead shirt on the Tour Dauphine, even in the single time trial. The winner of the second stage finished ninth on Wednesday in the fourth division, a distance of 16.4 km from Fermini to Roche-la-Molière. It was enough for the Austrian top player from Bora to keep Kazakh winner Alexei Lozenko (Astana) in second place overall.

“It was very tough, but it was a good experience for me. It’s unbelievable it came so close,” Postelberger said happily after the second-hand thriller. Two undulating sections and two challenging mountain stages await the pre-season race for the very busy France Tour.

On the other hand, his teammates Wilko Kildermann (NED/fifth overall) and Patrick Konrad (9), the lower Austrian who finished 12th in the time test, are more promising than the multi-tiered Postelburger. He’s 32 seconds behind Postelburger. However, the competition for the top spots is top notch, with Ineos stars Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas ahead of Conrad. Several aces follow directly behind him.

Michael Google is no longer applying for the time trial, a knee injury that has recently dogged the training demands in connection with the Tour de France, his team Qhubeka has stated.

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Article image: Imago