Romain Grégoire sacrifices stage win for overall lead: "I gave everything until the finish, even if it meant being second"

Saturday was a pink day for Marc Madiot as his formation Groupama - FDJ conquers not only the Maglia Rosa in Italy with Bruno Armirail, but also Romain Grégoire takes the pink leader's jersey in French 4 Jours de Dunkerque ahead of the final stage.

"Today, I'm second, but that was not the important thing. I have the pink jersey, there is one day left to defend it", confided the young 20-year-old just after the arrival of the 5th stage. "My first intention was to win the stage because I knew that if I won it, the pink jersey would not be far away. But when I attacked I took a little look behind and I saw Per Strand Hagenes, who was not particularly dangerous for the general. From that moment on, I didn't ask myself any more questions and I gave everything until the finish, even if it meant being second." continued Romain Grégoire, while thanking all his teammates for their great effort.

"The job they did today is just crazy. It really boosted me in the end, I really wanted to thank them in the most beautiful way", explains Grégoire who has 14 and 17 seconds advantage ahead of Kasper Asgreen and Olav Kooij respectively, coming into the final stage which is expected to be decided yet again in a bunch sprint.

"It's not a lot... 14 seconds. There are more than 180 kilometers left, it'll be a long day and a lot can happen. Nothing is done yet," concludes the man who has already clashed with today's winner, Per Strand Hagenes, in his junior years, including 2021 World Championships, where the results sheet read the same as in 4 Jours de Dunkerque stage 5.