Lozano and Ridolfo go deep together on Loire Tour Queen Stage

David Lozano and Filippo Ridolfo finished together in the peloton for Team Novo Nordisk after an explosive third stage of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour, a demanding 199 kilometres from Avrillé to the medieval hilltop village of Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes.

The race lived up to its billing as the queen stage of this year’s edition, with attacks flying constantly on the closing circuits as teams and individuals vied to make the decisive move. The complexion of the front of the race changed repeatedly before an elite group of five riders finally broke clear to contest the stage win.

For Lozano and Ridolfo, the aggressive racing on the final laps ultimately caught them out. When the race-winning move went, it came from an unexpected position in the peloton, and from that moment the pair found themselves fighting to stay in the chase rather than competing for the result.

“The racing was really aggressive today,” said Lozano. “It’s always like that here, particularly on these classics-style stages that are long and punchy — everyone wants to try to make the difference and make the race harder. Me and Filippo wanted to be part of the move that went away, but the attack that formed it took us by surprise. From that moment on we were out of the running.”

With one stage remaining, Lozano outlined the team’s ambitions for tomorrow’s finale in Le Mans. “The goal is to try and get in the break and see if we can help Filippo in the final — we’ll see,” he said.