Harold Tejada claimed a brilliant solo victory on Stage 6 of Paris–Nice. The XDS Astana Team rider attacked shortly before the summit of the final climb, gaining a small advantage over the chasing group already on the descent. In the end, keeping a six-second gap, Tejada crossed the finish line alone to take his first-ever victory at the WorldTour level.
“I had been waiting for this success for a long time, and finally I managed to win in Europe at the WorldTour level. This is the most important victory of my career. Together with the team we came here aiming to fight for the podium in the General Classification, but the rainy and windy stage turned out to be unpredictable and difficult for us. Still, we now have two stage wins and I still have a chance to fight for a Top-10 place overall.
Yesterday Alexandr Vinokurov told me that if I felt good, I should try to attack near the top of the final climb. I studied the climb and the descent, so I was ready to go. However, with 25 km to go I had a mechanical and had to stop and change the bike. But the whole team was there: my teammates did an incredible job to bring me back to the group. In the end we caught the peloton before the climb, and I immediately started moving up through the group and reached a good position for the decisive moment.
On the descent and then through the town I gave everything I had, and I still couldn’t fully believe that I had won. Incredible feelings. The last few seasons have been going well for me – I felt the progress. The Vuelta a España, the World Championships last year and the UAE Tour at the start of this season gave me extra motivation and confidence, and today everything came together. I often race in the most prestigious WorldTour events, where the level of competition is extremely high and winning is not easy. But together with the team we kept working, and today’s success is the result of that work. There are still two days and two tough stages ahead, so today we will celebrate a little and then focus on the final part of the race”, – said Harold Tejada.
With two stages remaining, Harold Tejada sits 10th in the General Classification of Paris–Nice.
Stage 5
- Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) 3h54’38”
- Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) +00’06”
- Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team) +00’06”
GC
- Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) 21h16’50”
- Daniel Martinez (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) +03’22”
- Georg Steinhauser (EF Education – EasyPost) +05’50”
