From the first climb, the black-and-yellow formation rode a high tempo. Leemreize then accelerated away from the peloton and managed to bridge the gap to the leaders before starting his solo. At the finish in Saint-Girons, the 21-year-old rider rode to his first victory of the season. Teammate Johannes Staune-Mittet, who won the third stage in the French stage race, finished fourth in the final stage and the final classification.

Leemreize could not have imagined a more beautiful first victory. “The team rode fantastic. The guys kept me well-positioned up front and made the course hard on the climb. I had a super day and at five hundred metres from the top I was able to pull away from my competitors. Then I started my solo. I rode to the front runners and got into the lead alone. The last twenty kilometres were incredibly tough. It’s my first real victory and it feels really good.”