Matteo Jorgenson: "Can I win the final classification? If I'm honest, yes"

Paris-Nice is very open at the moment and several riders are within reach of the final victory. One of them is Matteo Jorgenson, who stormed to second in the GC today after a successful raid; and is in great position to take the yellow jersey home this Sunday.

"I had the feeling that it would be a day for the classification riders. I knew it was going to be cold and rain was also expected, so it was going to be a tough stage anyway," Jorgenson told Eurosport after the stage. "It then took another two hours before the leading group was allowed to pull away and as soon as they left, INEOS Grenadiers immediately kept the lead small." INEOS' work saw the breakaway caught very early on, and the day was fast from start to finish. "This made the day very difficult, allowing us to focus on positioning for the final climb."

Then the action kicked off on the climb of Sur-Loup. "I knew that Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic would go on the steep part, but I was more aiming for a moment of despair." Jorgenson knew the group could break apart after, and he attacked close to the summit. It was the moment that experts knew could set the difference. The rolling roads that followed, and the very fast and technical descent to the line meant that an organized chase was almost impossible. 

Due to a lot of tactical racing behind, only two riders caught up with him: Stage winner Mattias Skjelmose and new race leader Brandon McNulty. "Luckily I chose the right moment. I didn't expect us to have such a gap, at one point we had a minute. That did surprise me." However he was not too happy with the Dane that surged to victory: "I'm a bit disappointed in Skjelmose, because he was in the wheel for a long time. But I guess that's the game being played, so congratulations to him."

However the group won 52 seconds on the closes chaser, Remco Evenepoel. A significant win. Jorgenson is ahead of Skjelmose due to the team time-trial, but now sits second in GC 23 seconds back on McNulty - and 40 ahead of Evenepoel. This puts him in a good position to win Paris-Nice, as he's shown the climbing legs needed to stay ahead of most of his rivals.

"I am very satisfied with my own legs, but can I win the final classification? If I'm honest, yes. I think it is possible and I will definitely try it. Brandon [McNulty] is a good friend of mine, but I'm not going to keep my legs still for that," he concluded.