Matteo Jorgenson continues to go from strength to strength in his debut season with Team Visma | Lease a Bike. After a thrilling finish to the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine, the American couldn't quite overturn his deficit to
Primoz Roglic, missing out on the Maillot Jaune by just 8 seconds.
"I felt on the first ascent that Roglic was not having his best day. Later it turned out that my feeling was right”, Jorgenson reflected post-stage to Team Visma | Lease a Bike's
official website. "I woke up this morning with the feeling that it was still possible to take the overall win. With five kilometres to go, Laurens De Plus pulled firmly, putting everyone on the limit. When moments later Carlos Rodriguez attacked, I knew I had to follow. I didn't look back anymore, but I heard through the radio that Roglic was struggling. I was also keeping an eye on Gee. He was only 11 seconds behind me in the general classification before the stage started. Once he was dropped, I rode full to the finish with Rodriguez."
Having started the final stage over a minute down on Roglic, the general classification fight had seemed all wrapped up. Despite coming so close to an incredible final stage overhaul however, Jorgenson doesn't believe he could have done any more to put the pressure on.
“I came close, but unfortunately it wasn't to be,” Jorgenson concludes. "I don't regret anything, so I can leave this Dauphine with my head held high. I can't help but be satisfied with my performance this week. Furthermore, I would like to thank Tiesj Benoot and my other teammates for the support along the way. Throughout the day, Tiesj kept telling me to keep believing in it. Throughout my career, others believe in me more than I believe in myself, but that is gradually changing. I'm now looking forward to the Tour."
"We had our dose of bad luck again this week with the crashes of Steven Kruijswijk and Dylan van Baarle and with Sepp's abandonment," assesses Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Grischa Niermann. "But I also saw how the guys have shown resilience over the last few days. We were strong again today. Matteo eventually stranded eight seconds from the overall win, which is a good result. He got the opportunity today and he took it. We should not feel sorry about a possible missed stage win: we went full for the GC. We can be very happy with second place in the overall classification and with the white jersey. Matteo will soon head to the final training camp in preparation for the Tour with a good feeling.”
