Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost) moved to second overall at the Tour de France, just 28 seconds behind Norway's Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) but the American was gutted to be so close but so far from taking the yellow jersey.
Quinn started the stage 5:34 down on Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and made it into the break of stage 4 to Foix. He had teammates Michael Valgren and Georg Steinhauser with him but Træen was there too, and was the best placed rider on GC, 5:06 down on Pogačar.
EF Education-EasyPost knew they were in a race within the race to try to take yellow. It was a long shot but gradually became possible as the riders suffered in the extreme heat. The first goal was to try to win the stage but before the Col de Montségu it was clear that UAE would let the break go and so the yellow jersey was also on the line.
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Quinn tried to distance Træen on the climb but the Norwegian knew he was about to make history and raced for yellow.
"It's nice to be in the mix but I'm disappointed," Quinn explained as he struggled to find consolation for missing out on yellow.
"I told my teammates that I had diamonds in my legs, the boys committed for me. Valgren and Steinhauser, those guys are true legends. I didn't have it on the climb to get rid of Torsten Træen, so he deserves the jersey."
Unfortunately for Quinn and EF Education, Lidl-Trek were also on a mission, which clashed with targeting the yellow jersey. Mads Pedersen wanted to win the stage while Mathias Vacek and Quinn Simmons were there to work for him, or try to win themselves if Pedersen cracked on the climbs.
However, the big Dane showed he is far more than a sprinter. He stayed in the front group over the climb, his teammates controlled the attacks and then Pedersen dominated the 10-rider sprint into Foix.
Quinn attacked on the last climb but was kept in check, ending his yellow jersey dreams.
"I felt like I had great legs but in the heat, it's really hard to keep them," he said.
"The boys did a great job giving me ice and water and I just kept going to the car. You're overheating the whole time, just battling that, but I think I managed OK.
"It would have been great to get up the road. I knew I was not going to beat Mads in a sprint and Lidl said they were going to control it for Mads. If Quinn and Vacek had been jumping, then it could have been interesting, but I didn't really have the legs to go solo over the top."
Quinn is Træen closest threat for the yellow jersey but he knows it will be hard to pull back 28 seconds, with perhaps Pogačar going on the attack on stage 6 over the Col du Tourmalet.
"I've got to talk to the team but can only take it a day at a time," he said.
Quinn won the 2024 USPro national road title but was slowed by a knee injury that left him unable to train seriously for months. He showed that he is back to his best even if he is not in the yellow jersey.
"I've had a few tough years but I'm grateful for the people I have around me, who helped get me to get back here. This is where I think I belong."
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