Italian Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) (Image credit: AFP)
Both of Saunier Duval-Scott's leaders, Riccardo Riccò and Juanjo Cobo, lost more time in Stage 4's time trial than they were expecting according to the team. Riccò finished down by 3'36 while Cobo clocked in at 3'45.
The finish should not trouble Riccò, who has already indicated he is not competing for the overall, but Cobo is fighting for a good place in the GC.
"I don't know why I was so slow," said Cobo. "I'd been feeling OK but today it wasn't the case. My heartbeat was 160, and you can't give it the full gas at that pace. I didn't feel comfortable on my bike, so my performance was less than perfect.
"I hope it's just a bad day, my only bad day in this Tour. I know I'm in good shape," he said hopefully. "We'll see what happens in the upcoming stages..."
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