King Kenny’s second place on the Queen Stage boosts him into second overall
How it happened
Kenny Ellisonde started the final stage of Tour de l’Ain in third place overall after a strong climb yesterday. After a hilly day which took in seven categorised climbs, Kenny moved up one place to take the runner-up spot. The action came down to the Col de Menthieres, the final and most significant of the climbs. Storer (Groupama FDJ) attacked and Kenny gave chase, showing that the two of them were a cut above the rest of the field. Storer distanced Kenny on the climb, but our French hero fought on to preserve his second place.
Kenny’s thoughts
So, we knew it would happen in the Col de Menthieres. The whole day was quite fast and I was feeling a bit stiff due to the crash yesterday. When Storer went I wasted a little bit of the momentum because I expected Cepeda to follow the wheel. But, I was able to bridge back to Storer. In the end, it was clear that he was the stronger rider today, and he deserved to win. On a personal level, I’m happy that after an unlucky year, today the wheels seemed to turn in my way again.
Photos of the day
Courtesy of Sprint Cycling
