“It is a pleasure to get such a good result after a complicated year,” - Clement Berthet takes his first bronze in the season

AG2R Citroen Team rider Clement Berthet was finally able to climb the podium for the first time in the season. He finished third in the opening stage of the Skoda Tour Luxembourg, 7 seconds behind the stage winner Valentin Madouas.

“It is a pleasure to get such a good result after a complicated year,” said Berthet. He was trying to victory, but Madouas left everyone behind with his late surprise attack, so Berther had to settle for the third position.“The victory was not far off, but Groupama-FDJ raced very smart in the final, and Valentin Madouas was strong,” expressed the Frenchman.

He has no complaints about the final result. “We had a great day collectively and it’s good to be rewarded with a podium. Personally, I had great feelings in this stage. It makes me happy to have managed to regain a level like this after my finger fracture on August 3 in the second stage of the Vuelta a Burgos. This bodes well for the future,” said Berthet.

He will try his luck in the next stage, but the main focus remains on GC. “We will try to get a stage victory but we will also try to get a good result in the final general classification. Even if the individual time trial will force some bigger time gaps, it is always also a good idea to have taken a few bonus seconds today,” concluded Berthet.