"I'm glad I got through the day" - Brandon McNulty keeps yellow jersey on his shoulders at Paris-Nice

Into the final stage of Paris-Nice, Brandon McNulty will be in the race lead. UAE Team Emirates will be rather fragile, but the American tightly holds on to the yellow jersey after a strong performance at the Madone d'Utelle.

“It wasn't long, but it was constant full throttle. I'm glad I got through the day," McNulty said at the end of stage 6. “I had a bad moment: I was cold and my legs got bad. But I fought as hard as I could. It was enough to keep the jersey for another day.” McNulty was isolated early in the climb, but as several riders still aim for the yellow jersey, the pace was rather constant until two kilometers to go, giving him an opportunity to limit losses as he had a good day on the bike and did not crack under pressure.

The American was expected to be put under big pressure on the summit finish, Remco Evenepoel attacked the race twice and Matteo Jorgenson pushed the pace to try and take yellow from him. However, with a grueling effort McNulty managed to arrive at the finish line 19 seconds behind the group including the likes of Evenepoel, Jorgenson and Skjelmose. By a narrow 4 seconds he keeps the race lead. Skjelmose and Evenepoel sit 35 and 36 seconds away from the lead respectively, creating danger from several different directions.

“Tomorrow it will be full throttle all day long, I expect. That's how it always goes on that stage. And now you also have the rain. It will be a tough day," he says. Chances of winning the race are not too high, but he starts the day in first place. "Do I like the stage? I think normally it should suit me better than one long climb, as was the case today. But it will be tough anyway, so we will see how the legs are.”