Matteo Jorgenson looked set to lead Visma-Lease a Bike into the mountains of the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné after a stunning time trial result, which propelled the US rider into third overall on GC.
The winner of Paris-Nice earlier this season, Jorgenson claimed fourth place in the crucial 34.4-kilometre race against the clock in France’s other weeklong WorldTour race.
Second in the much shorter Tour de Romandie TT last year, Jorgenson said afterwards when he had turned in an equally impressive performance over the longer, more challenging distance by riding “more on feel”.
“I suffered a lot, but I did my best effort,” Jorgenson, 18th on the same TT stage last year, told reporters afterwards. “I was not really checking my power, I did it more by feel.”
“It was just so long, it meant a lot of time suffering but I think I did a good ride.”
The Dauphiné’s rolling mid-week stage was no easy challenge. But although he steadily shipped time on new race leader Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) - 24 seconds by the first time check and 52 seconds by the second - Jorgenson only ceded 12 seconds in the last part of the course, strongly suggested he handled his effort very well.
“I broke it up into sections, there was a first straight and flat part, that was more or less simple, staying there on threshold," he explained later.
“There was a technical part with some hairy turns, there I stayed conservative and rested on the downhills. Then on the last 11 kilometres, mostly false flat uphill, there you just go into the box.”
A winner at a summit finish in the Tour of Oman last year, not to mention his sterling performance in the mountains of Paris-Nice, it almost goes without saying that Jorgenson has performed well on climbs in the past. Third in the Col de la Loge, a comparatively straightforward summit finish on Monday, certainly gives room for some optimism too.
But Jorgenson was wary about overestimating his chances in the far more difficult Alpine stages to come. Amongst all the contenders he will be facing up to a rival of the calibre of Evenepoel, already one of his main challengers from Paris-Nice.
"I think I’m feeling pretty good, I had a good training camp and good preparation, but the three mountain stages this weekend [from Friday-Ed.] will be tough," Jorgenson said.
"These big shoulders do suffer in the mountains, but I’ll give it my best.”
