Styby did very well to finish second in today’s second stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk. Only a very quick John Degenkolb was able to beat him to the line in the streets of Montreuil. Styby’s teammate, Jérôme Pineau completed the day’s top three.
A quartet of riders got away early in the stage, but they were eventually caught before the finale. Meanwhile, Styby nestled himself behind his teammates. “It was cold and rainy. Not really nice conditions to ride in. Maybe I should be used to that from cyclocross,” our champion noted, “but I haven’t really ridden in the rain for the last two months.”
As the finish approached, the Omega Pharma-Quick Step riders went after the stage win. “Suddenly the wind was perfect for forming echelons. We tried to break the peloton up and it worked for a little while, but eventually everything came back together. At least we showed that our team is strong.”
But the team wasn’t finished yet. “We then tried to set up the sprint for Jérôme. I was to be the last man, but he was ahead of me in the last kilometer. I made a small hole for him in the last turn, but Degenkolb passed me and I couldn’t catch up to him again. He finished a bike length ahead of me. Jérôme was third.”
Styby was very happy with his teammates. “Everyone worked really hard. Too bad we couldn’t finish it off. In any case, I’m pleased with my first race so for,” Zdenek said. He now sits in fifth place in the general classification, 17 seconds behind the leader.