"I think I did a good sprint but I'm not really suited to that stuff" - Matteo Jorgenson 3rd in first real test of 2024 Criterium du Dauphine

In the first real test of the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Matteo Jorgenson bagged himself an impressive third place. Showing some strong signs in the early stages of this week-long Tour de France warmup.

"That was good!" the American reflects afterwards in his post-stage interview. "I actually didn't feel too good all day but in the sprint, Steven Kruijswijk did a good job getting me up there in the last kilometre and I was fighting to get on the right wheel. Found Magnus Cort Nielsen's wheel and couldn't quite follow him. But I think I did a good sprint. I'm not really suited to that stuff but I tried my best."

With his third placed finish, Jorgenson also bags himself some bonus seconds that could end up proving crucial by the end of the week. For a while though, it looked like Bruno Armirail was going to hold on to win from the breakaway before being caught with just 200m to go. "I know he's super strong so I wasn't very surprised," Jorgenson said of the very impressive Frenchman. "But we were riding fast all day so they must have been super strong up front."

In terms of the Maillot Jaune contenders however, Jorgenson doesn't think much can be garnered from today's outing. "It was a pretty steady climb so I don't think it's telling of too much but I'm glad to get some bonus seconds and yeah, it was a strong result," the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider assesses. "The peloton was riding super fast and it definitely put some sting in the legs. We had a tailwind all day so it made for some really good conditions for the break. At the start it took a long time before anyone started riding so they got a big gap, but I think it was always under control."