The fourth and penultimate stage of the French stage race was one of extremes for the development team of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. GC leader Jorgen Nordhagen experienced a bad night and decided after consultation not to start. Tijmen Graat, the number two in the general classification, also did not feel one hundred percent and dropped out halfway through the stage.

After the loss of Nordhagen and Graat, the general classification was wide open again. The youngsters from Team Visma | Lease a Bike had to change their plan quickly and came up with a new plan along the way. Tomos Pattinson and Jonas Hoydahl brought Menno Huising and Van Bekkum to the foot of the final climb and dominated at the Plateau de Beille.

Van Bekkum, who had already finished second on Friday, attacked about ten kilometers from the finish and found himself solo quickly. After a long solo, the young Dutchman was allowed to put his hands in the air for the first time in his career as an U23 rider. "I did surprise myself a bit. I've been waiting for four years for this victory and the fact that it is finally there, is great,” Van Bekkum said.

"I always feel pretty well when the tempo changes a lot on a climb. I know a lot of climbers prefer to ride a tight pace, so I tried to get them out of their rhythm. At one point I saw that everyone was tired and I decided to accelerate. At first, two guys came with me and then I attacked sitting down. From then on it was a matter of getting into a rhythm and riding as hard as possible to the line."

The relief was big for Van Bekkum. "It was often very close. This year it looked like I was going to win the Istrian Spring Trophy, but I got a time penalty and just finished second. Yesterday I finished second again. Today, when I saw the finish line, I thought: I'm just going to win this! That was a great moment."

According to sports director Sierk Jan De Haan, the team showed resilience after the loss of Nordhagen and Graat. “The fact that Darren, Menno, Tomos and Jonas picked it up like that, is very impressive. They rode a fantastic climb and performed extremely well," De Haan said. "Menno did a good job on the climb and Darren took the initiative. Yesterday they also rode very attacking and put a lot of pressure on the others. You can see they have more experience and are getting stronger."

With one day to go, Van Bekkum has a one-minute lead over the first pursuer. "We have to do the same as the past few days and then we will see what the outcome will be. We are working well together and constantly riding on the attack. If we give it our all and make smart choices, there's a good chance we can bring home the jersey."

Photo's: Florian Frison