The Breakaway
The Solo Escape
The Podium Ceremony
Krists Neilands, our Latvian guy, is the man of the day! Taking takes historic first for Israel Start-Up Nation at Tour de France and was awarded the combativity prize.
We are collecting a nice list of “firsts” in this Tour De France, only four stages young.
And after this unforgettable day in the Tour you might assume, we are satisfied, right?
Wrong.
Let’s hear more from the man of the day (alongside his teammate in the breakaway, Nils Politt).
Krists: “The team planned the breakaway, believing we had a chance to go all the way.
So, I jumped in at the start with Nils Politt. It was a great move. Or so I thought… It ended up being a big disappointment because the peloton kept us on a short leash – probably because we had a rider who was only four minutes on the GC.
“We tried our best to create a more significant gap, at times riding 45 km/hour, but to no avail. Our efforts – and especially Nils’s – to shake things up in the breakaway with a few attacks, did not have the desired effect. So, when we reached the stretch leading to the last climb, I said to myself, ‘Heck, you didn’t invest all this effort today just to lie down and surrender to the peloton. So, with less than a two-minute gap, I attacked with full gas.
“I knew it would be almost impossible to beat the peloton, but I was okay with it. I felt like at least we would give the team huge exposure and show how aggressive we can be. The fact that I ended up on the podium as the most combative rider was a bonus.
“One thing is for sure: I am not done here. I want to win a stage!”
Pictures: Noa Toledo Arnon and Bettini Photos.
