Many today at the Tour de Suisse thought he was done for, but Romain Gregoire has shown that, despite his young age, he can take responsibility for the race and has absolute control. On the Spluga Pass, he was certainly not one of the best athletes in the group, but he was the protagonist of an incredible chase and brought himself back to his direct rivals without ever losing his cool. Only Almeida was uncatchable, the Portuguese rider's superiority was undisputed, but fortunately the young Frenchman can still boast over 2 minutes of advantage over him, a situation that is certainly not reassuring, but for now allows him to sleep soundly.

"I have nothing left, I truly gave everything, but I am happy" Gregoire said right after the finish line, a clear statement that leaves no room for doubt, yet the Frenchman always maintained a smile: the day's mission was accomplished. "Today's goal was to maintain the yellow jersey and try to manage myself during the climb," he explained after arriving. "I knew winning the stage would be very difficult, but I wanted to do everything to keep the leader's jersey for at least another day. On the Spluga Pass, I tried to climb steadily, then once downhill, I launched myself in pursuit of the first group and at that moment tried to limit the damage. The rider who worried me the most was Kevin Vauquelin, who this morning was second in the general classification with only 25" behind. I focused on him, and when Oscar Onley attacked in the finale, I didn't care, I would have wasted energy chasing him. Today, however, I want to give a heartfelt thanks to Julian Alaphilippe who gave me a great hand, let's say we formed a kind of French alliance."

At the Piuro finish line, Romain Gregoire conceded 1'10" to Joao Almeida, who made an incredible leap in the general classification while still remaining over 2 minutes behind. The battle for the overall title seems more open than ever, and starting tomorrow with the arrival in Santa Maria, everything could be turned upside down in an instant. Today, the young Frenchman showed he knows how to handle it, but will it really be enough to arrive in yellow at the final stage? "The Tour de Suisse jersey is very important, it is still a World Tour stage race, but it will be very difficult. Tomorrow there will be a true mountain stage and on Sunday an individual time trial, which is the challenge that worries me the most since time trials are not my strength, but I will certainly try to fight until the end, I want to keep the jersey for as long as possible," Gregoire added. He will then be involved in the French national road championships and will be at the start of his second Tour de France. At the Grand Boucle, he doesn't just want to do well, but dreams of winning a stage, a gigantic goal that could be closer if he emerges from the Tour de Suisse in excellent form.