The queen stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes came to life early on. On the first climb of the day, the Col du Pré, the peloton was immediately split into several groups. Jorgenson, Ben Tulett and Bruno Armirail managed to stay in the front group and headed towards the final climb together.

The race exploded on the slopes of the Plateau de Solaison. Once again, Jorgenson proved to be among the strongest riders in the peloton and remained in contention for a podium place for a long time. The 26-year-old American fought all the way to the line but ultimately came up short in the battle for the podium on the brutal final ascent. Jorgenson concludes the French stage race in fourth place in the general classification.

“It wasn’t my best day,” Jorgenson reflected afterwards. “The pace was incredibly high throughout the entire stage, so I quickly realised it was going to be difficult. I kept believing in myself and gave everything I had on the final climb. I fought for the win and tried to follow Del Toro for as long as possible. In the end, I blew myself up a little, but I have no regrets. I’m satisfied with my performance and it gives me motivation to improve myself on the longer climbs.”

Sports director Maarten Wynants also looked back on the past week. “Our riders have shown a high level throughout the week. Hopefully, the riders who were forced to abandon can recover well. Ben, Per and Matteo, as well as Jørgen, showed in the mountains that they are in excellent shape. It’s unfortunate that we eventually lost Jørgen, but we will take the positives with us into the upcoming races.”