"Not too bad sprint result for a guy who weighs 63 kg" - Axel Laurance defies odds to finish second in a Dauphiné sprint

Despite the presence of sprinter big guns (quite literally) such as Jonathan Milan and Soren Waerenskjold, the fifth stage of Criterium du Dauphiné came to a surprising conclusion with Jake Stewart (Israel - Premier Tech) as a winner. And right behind him, an INEOS Grenadiers jersey of Axel Laurance. The 24-year-old Frenchman couldn't really hide his surprise after that result.

"It's not too bad bunch sprint result for a guy who weighs 63 kg," Laurance tells Eurosport after the arrival with a smile. "I think it's not that bad, I felt really good all day. I felt like I had speed, it was a bit hard to know if I was going left or right, and then it's still very fast and with my weight I think that as soon as I start to catch the wind, then it's a bit more complicated."

Lidl-Trek did a perfect leadout for their leader Jonathan Milan, but the Italian's legs were ultimately way too emptied by the hard stage and so it was another man who benefitted from his team's hard work. "The Lidl-Trek sent Jonathan Milan well but sometimes it's a bit like Tim Merlier, a little bit from behind, when there's a lot of speed it makes the difference and Jake Stewart launched at the perfect moment."

Laurance found himself on the perfect wheel of Stewart and that allowed him to sprint to a rather surprising second place after a hard day. "I was well placed, then it's always about knowing how to pace yourself to make the right effort at the right time, it's never easy but sometimes you have to know how to hurt yourself before the sprint to favor the pure sprint positioning."

Thinking back to Laurance's crash at the Tour of Norway last month, this result comes as a reassurement of his good shape in view to French championships two weeks from now.