Movistar directeur sportif Patxi Vila gave Matteo Jorgenson a long hug and described the American as ‘brave’ after he descended to the team bus.
Jorgenson won Prix de la Combativité award for his solo attack but was cruelly caught and passed by Michael Woods (Israel Premier Tech) just four hundred metres from the finish line atop the Puy de Dôme.
“I’m proud of what I did, at the end of the day it didn’t pay off but it will one day,” Jorgenson told Cyclingnews and Flobikes before climbing into the Movistar bus.
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Jorgenson was in a solo battle against the ever-steeper gradients of the Puy de Dôme, knowing that some of his breakaway behind him would close the gap on the steep final four kilometres of the extinct volcano.
“It was brutal because there were no fans, my radio cut out and so it was pure silence the whole climb, against my own body and my own mind,” he explained.
“I didn’t know the time gaps or anything, so when Mike Woods came past me, he scared me a little bit. I barely heard his chain when he came past me and it scared me. Then I was done.”
Jorgenson showed his attacking style bravery in the spring when he won the Tour of Oman and impressed at Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie.
He is expected to join Jumbo-Visma for 2024 but is keen to race hard and target stage victories after Movistar lost team leader Enric Mas early in the Tour de France.
After getting in the 13-rider break that shook off the peloton, Jorgenson attacked solo with 50 km to go. He knew he had to use his power and time trialing skills to build an advantage before the final steep gradients of the Puy de Dôme slowed him and tipped the race in favour of the better climbers.
“It wasn’t really in the plan to go in the break, we thought the GC guys would ride behind. But I found myself there and then you have to kind of look around and make a plan on the fly,” Jorgenson explained.
“I knew Woods and Powless would be faster than me uphill, especially on the 12%,13% part, that’s their territory. So I knew I had to get ahead of them somehow. I was hoping we’d gain more time with Mohoric and Campenaerts but with just a minute at the bottom, it was going to be tough.”
“You just have to hope that behind they blow up or whatever. As we climbed the mountain my radio stopped working, so the only time gaps I got were from the motorbike. He was telling me a minute, then 40 seconds and then 35 seconds. That was the last one I got with one kilometre to go.”
“I started to feel empty and then before I knew it, Mike was there and passing me. It was a surprise but there was absolutely nothing I could do.”
