Alex Baudin impresses with 4th place and a Giro d'Italia white jersey: "It's an honor to wear a distinctive jersey, and I'm going to try to keep it tomorrow"

When the fireworks opened after Colle della Maddalena, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale's Alex Baudin was ready to get stuck in the opening stage of Giro d'Italia. The attack opened a nice gap and for a moment, it seemed like the late move will succeed. However tactics didn't help the cooperation within the group and so Tadej Pogacar with Jhonatan Narváez on his wheel were able to catch back.

Unluckily the duo, together with fellow escapee Maximilian Schachmann were a tad bit too fast for the Frenchman on the steep slopes of Bidio di San Vito and so it turned out to be very hard final 3 kilometers for Baudin to hold off the approaching peloton. However the 22-year-old found some strength left in his legs and secured a fourth place on the day along with the white jersey for best young rider.

"The Giro had been on my agenda since the start of the season, so I came to this race well prepared and with a lot of confidence. It was very hard in the final and the leaders came up at an impressive pace. I didn't manage to hang on when they passed me, but then I gave it my all to try and come back, so I didn't miss much," explained Baudin in press release by his team.

"It was a great day for me, with fourth place and the best young rider jersey at the finish. It's an honor to wear a distinctive jersey, and I'm going to try to keep it tomorrow, even if the priority remains the overall for Ben."