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SportTranscription
00:00 And there goes Remco. Here comes Remco Evenepoel, guile straight onto his tail and certainly
00:07 alive to the danger and the prospect.
00:15 Today could be a defining one in the fight for the Paris-Nice crown, the Montbrouillet
00:21 back on La Course du Soleil. Snow may have neutralised the ride in 2016, but the following
00:26 year saw Julian Alaphilippe victorious in an individual time trial.
00:32 Seven years on, this time a summit finish awaits the peloton, a brutal parcours with
00:37 a lot of climbing on the menu, then Montbrouillet and up the summit twice.
00:43 Winners yesterday UAE Team Emirates with an opportunity to defend or extend their elevated
00:48 position.
00:49 We have a really strong team so it's my first race I don't really know what to expect so
00:55 it's good to have my team mates in really good shape so they can do a really good result
01:00 as well so we'll go day by day and see how it goes.
01:04 Roglic and Evenepoel needing to make up for lost time, needing to make their mark, even
01:09 if they won't approach the challenge in quite the same way.
01:13 It's one of the most important days here for this week but for us I think we're in a quite
01:18 good situation for the moment. I'm not too far behind the UAE guys and in front of some
01:23 others so it's not really up to us to take control or to put in some action so get through
01:29 the day well and we will see what happens during the day but of course today is not
01:37 up to us I think.
01:39 I mean the attack you are always ready to attack but the thing is you need to have legs
01:45 so we will see, definitely it's a challenging parkour, it will be hard and hopefully when
01:53 I have the legs for sure we will do our best.
01:56 Second a year ago David Goddoux in good shape, hoping to make an impact on a bumpy day's
02:01 ride.
02:02 Today we will have to be ready and we won't have to calculate the pedal strokes. I think
02:09 it will be more like a classic, I hope, it will be like a classic, it will be a bit bumpy
02:15 from a distance and there are some everywhere, that would be the ideal scenario for us.
02:27 The field will roll out of Chalons-sur-Saun with 183km to traverse. An early ascent up
02:34 Mont-Saint-Vincent but once they hit Côte de Beauban the pressure ratcheted up. Seven
02:40 listed climbs and more than 3000m of punishing short climbs but with high percentages through
02:47 Beaujolais. Two times up Mont-Bruyé offers a breakaway opportunity with potential for
02:54 a GC shake up.
03:04 A quartet of escapés leading early doors on stage 4, Christian Scarroni had already
03:09 made his intentions clear, the Italian breaking out to snatch maximum 5 points up Mont-Saint-Vincent.
03:16 The Astana man soon joined by current King of the Mountain Mathieu Bourguedo as well
03:20 as Stéphane Besseguer and Jasper de Bust. At 45km/h the four created an interesting
03:26 advantage over the peloton but entering the final 60km that fell to within a minute to
03:32 end thoughts of holding out. Mathieu Bourguedo was second in last year's Tour de France
03:38 in nearby Belleville on Beaujolais. The Frenchman had already bagged 10 points when Scarroni
03:43 kicked up the Côte de D'Urbis as the breakaway splintered. The Italian left the total energy
03:48 king of the mountain behind to solo over the summit. Scarroni had 20 seconds on Bourguedo
03:55 as he reached the first attempt at Mont-Bruyé with the peloton closing the gap. The rain
04:00 returned meaning no one willing to take undue risks over the next kilometres. The Astana
04:06 rider with 21 points earned an equality showing but he ran out of time to further reel in
04:11 the 28 of Bourguedo who defended the jersey. Caught with 33km remaining just ahead of the
04:18 intermediate sprint. Bora Hansgrove continued to ride hard down the descent, poor positioning
04:26 punished severely. That included small fractured yellow jersey group with Brandy McNulty battling
04:34 to hold on to it. In the end on the flatter run towards the day's intermediate sprint
04:40 it all came back together pretty quickly yet it was those who were looking for extras sniffing
04:45 around the front. Pithi Evonopoul Roglic pushing on but who would take first? Blast off on the
04:58 front now looking around to see where Roglic is. It's a down to two really for the Bora
05:01 Hansgrove squad. It's an all in fight. Remco Evonopoul this is for the sprint of course.
05:09 There's ten bonus seconds or six bonus seconds on offer here. Remco Evonopoul wants to go
05:14 toe to toe with Primoz Roglic and he's going to get it but those riders need to get back
05:18 into contention. The UA team Emirates squad can probably afford to lose a few there. Evonopoul
05:26 gaining six seconds a couple more than Roglic as they headed for the penultimate climb.
05:31 The Col de Fou D'Avenay short but not so sweet. 5.1km long and an average of 7.3%. Yellow
05:41 jersey McNulty right behind Evonopoul. A pseudo quick step up the pace but it was Australian
05:47 champion Luke Plapp who used that as a platform to attack. 15 seconds built in a fine show
05:53 of strength from the Jayco Alula rider. At this point it became a race by elimination
05:59 as it started with Finn Fischer-Black in the white jersey dropped. Even worse news for
06:04 last year's runner up, David Goddieu caught up in a crash. The Groupama FDJ rider quickly
06:11 40 seconds adrift of the main group, a tall order to get back in. But one man chose to
06:17 kick on, Santiago Butrago of Bahrain Victorious joining Plapp as the pair rode over the summit
06:23 together. The longest descent of the day bringing the race towards a second crack at Montbrouillet.
06:30 Would 15 seconds and 10km of road be enough to see one of the duo win? UAE, Quickstep,
06:38 Littletrek, Bora, Ineos all up at the head of the peloton in service of their GC contenders.
06:43 Yet come the foot of Montbrouillet with 2km left, Plapp and Butrago had ballooned to 40
06:50 seconds in advance. And as they climbed for the final time, Butrago would make his move.
06:55 The Colombian kicked, Plapp dropped. As the GC group passed the Flamm Rouge, Evanapol
07:01 attacked but the others held on, meanwhile Butrago chasing a first win in France.
07:10 Surely assured at this point, he's coming to the line. The Bahrain Victorious rider
07:14 from Colombia is soaring to an extraordinary success here in Bahrain East. He raises his
07:21 arms in delight. Victory for Butrago. But will that come with the yellow jersey? Remco
07:27 Evanapol wants to have a word about that. As Luc Plapp comes across the line within
07:31 12 seconds, he's a man for yellow perhaps today and I think he could have a shot at
07:34 going into the yellow jersey. He managed to hang on clear of the rest of them. Remco Evanapol
07:39 launches. Schkelmuss is there, thereabouts. Jorgensen trying to respond. Akin Brunel looking
07:44 to go around the outside and inside the final. Thundering 100m, it's Remco Evanapol who's
07:50 going to cross the line in third place. Unless Schkelmuss can get around the outside of him
07:54 in the run to the line, he could well get the finest bonus seconds here. Schkelmuss
07:57 to take what could be crucial four by the seconds there. Sensational Santiago with stage
08:05 four honours. Butrago was second at the Tour of Valencia, the 24-year-old now a contender
08:11 at Paris Nice. And with Phil Baos winning at Tirano-Edratico, it was day of double
08:16 delights for Team Bahrain victorious. It's really special, no? Winner in France, winner
08:25 in the big race, World Tour race, it's for me very important also for the team. Also
08:32 winning Tirano-Edratico, it's an amazing day for the Team Bahrain. Nothing, I'm really
08:39 happy also for the teams. But today, a really good job, nothing. Butrago with his third
08:47 World Tour victory and rising 21 places into second overall. Luc Clap rewarded for a fine
08:55 second, the Melbourne native elevated into the maillot. The Aussie holds 13 seconds on
09:00 Butrago with one of three Colombians in the top ten. Evanapol 30 seconds down, Roglic
09:06 more than a minute off the pace, the favourites failing to light it up. Laurence Pithy fought
09:12 hard to remain in the points classification leadership. The Kiwi extends its advantage
09:17 to eight points over Mads Pedersen, Danny Van Poppel third at the head of a trio of
09:21 duchies. Mathieu Bourguedou held off the challenge of Scheroni to remain in polka dots. 28 points
09:28 gives him a seven-point cushion over the Italian. And after his heroic solo, no surprise, Butrago
09:34 up to third. Clap continued the theme of yellow and white combo, the only difference from
09:39 the GC, Remco in third in the under 26 category. Stage five will be an opportunity for redemption
09:46 for lost time. It's off to the Ardèche on a day that will be marked. The number of climbs,
09:51 the sprinters could yet be present unless the breakaway goes all the way.
09:55 [Music]
10:02 (upbeat music)