The 182.3-kilometer stage from Saint-Vulbas to Crest-Voland marked the beginning of a demanding weekend. After a relatively flat opening section, the riders faced nearly 3,000 meters of climbing, with a challenging finale featuring two consecutive climbs that completely opened up the race. Wout van Aert did not start the stage following his victory yesterday. He is still experiencing significant discomfort in his elbow after his crash last week.

From the very first kilometers, Team Visma | Lease a Bike was represented in the attack. Armirail, Hagenes, and Affini were part of a large breakaway group that managed to build a substantial advantage. As the race progressed over the final climbs, the battle for the stage victory intensified, but the riders continued to fight against the advancing favorites. “It was very good for us that Bruno, Per, and Edoardo were up the road,” Jorgenson said afterward. “Because of that, the other teams had to sacrifice more riders and spend more energy throughout the stage.”

The pace in the favorites’ group increased steadily on the final climbs. Jorgenson managed to stay with the best climbers in the peloton for a long time, delivering an important performance in the battle for the general classification. “It was crazy right from the start,” the American reflected. “I saw that group ride away and immediately knew it was going to be a tough day. At the beginning of the climb, I tried to hang on for as long as possible because the pace was incredibly high. I’m already looking forward to the next two days.”

Up front, Armirail continued to resist the charging favorites impressively. The Frenchman rounded off his strong day in the breakaway with fourteenth place on the stage and, thanks to that performance, moved up to second place in the general classification.

With Armirail now second overall and Jorgenson in fourth place, Team Visma | Lease a Bike heads into the decisive final weekend of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in an excellent position.