"Copenhagen is close" - Filippo Ganna decisive at Dauphiné and eyeing next goal already

Filippo Ganna won the fourth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné today as he stormed to the top time in a tightly-disputed individual time-trial where only a couple of seconds decided the outcome on the day.

“It was a long day in the hot seat, but the most important thing is that I won. Wout came very close, but I am happy with the victory. I had luck on my side," he said in a post-race interview. Ganna was an early starter on the day and took the race lead from Luke Durbridge, and then saw the likes of Ethan Hayter and Mattia Cattaneo come close to his time, but it was Wout van Aert who put the pressure on the Italian.

The Belgian had the best time over the first intermediate point, however couldn't hold the same speed over the last two and Ganna managed to return to the top step - for the fourth time this year. Ganna only completed the 32 kilometers 2 seconds faster than van Aert, but it was enough.

“After his quick split, I was a bit shocked. It was copy-paste of the World Time Trial Championship," he reminisced. "It's close between us every time. Wout is very strong, you saw that yesterday too. But the course suited me well. This morning the weather was bad, so I didn't feel great then. But the sun came out and it stayed dry for everyone. That was good for the fight." he added.

His next goal is clear, and he has already hinted towards the day he will be targeting next: "Copenhagen is close, but we'll see if I'll be there."