Zdenek didn’t succeed to hold on his third place in Paris-Nice. In the final stage he lost contact with the group of favorites. “This is one of the biggest disappointments in my career so far.”
“I knew it would be hard and difficult today, but I believed in myself. The start was good and I took two bonus seconds along the road, so José Joaquin Rojas, number four in the GC, was now three seconds behind me.”
Then followed five climbs. “I had some difficulties to follow the pace but I thought the last climb would suit me better. This morning we did the parcours of the final stage in the car, because I didn’t want to underestimate anything.”
“Unfortunately, I lost contact 500 meters under the top of the final climb and there was no chance to get them again. It’s really a big disappointment for me, but after all I learned a lot here. I want to thank my teammates for the help the whole week.”
Styby finished eventually on a 15th place in the GC. “Now I’m going to fly to Mallorca again to prepare myself for my next race: Milano-San Remo.”