Behind attacker Giulio Pellizzari's back, Matthew Riccitello was the only one among the five GC contenders who really tried to catch the Italian. And that visibly frustrated the American from Israel-Premier Tech.
"In the end, it's my fault that I wasn't on Pellizzari's wheel, but I thought the other guys would also want to go for the stage win. I'm very disappointed they didn't want to help me. I don't think they had much to lose. But that's cycling, right? It is what it is," he said to the camera of Eurosport.
"I think we were all on the same level today. Even with the wind, nobody was really keen to cooperate. That's normal from Jai (Hindley, ed.), since his teammate was up front. But the other three... Maybe they've (Jonas Vingegaard, João Almeida, and Tom Pidcock, ed.) already won enough," he joked bitterly.
Riccitello did not shy away from harsh words, but also took some blame on himself. "I'm a bit frustrated, but I can't blame anyone else but myself for not following."
