On the morning of Sunday, June 26, 2022, the group started the Innsbruck-Bled stage, under a beautiful sun.
Before the start, the yellow jersey was again handed over, this time between Hugo Rousselot and Emile Rivoire (GIANT-Hexatech team). Emile took the lead after an incredible 3rd stage between Andermatt and Innsbruck. At its shortest, this 2.5 day stage was just over 300 km long, while Emile rode 632 km and covered more than 12,000 meters of positive altitude difference!
The reaction of the new yellow jersey at the start of stage 4:
” The day of departure from Andermatt was sunny. At dawn I went to do the Furka pass because my batteries were full. Then we rode well with Hugo to go bivouac at the beginning of the Stelvio.
Our batteries were empty this Friday morning, but a miraculous lightning allowed us to recharge the batteries just enough to reach the top of the Stelvio! At the top I was able to recharge again, then after the day was generally without recharge. I was able to take shelter in a cabin on the side of the road to protect myself from the heavy rain of Friday evening.
The night was good and Saturday the sun was back. Fortunately because I had engaged in a big “bonus” loop, passing the fabulous high mountain road of the Silvretta! Really the most beautiful road I’ve seen since the beginning, moreover it is paying for the cars, so I was very quiet. On the other hand I had to really push yesterday (Saturday) to arrive before the 6pm deadline. I must have driven more than 230 km yesterday I think”.
The Dolomites
Crossable by the northern part of Italy, some participants share this mythical massif with amazement. A detour that will take them back to Austria before reaching Slovenia.
The first pictures of the image team, which followed the participants on both sides of the Italian-Austrian border.
Crossing into Slovenia
We discover the first pictures of the SunTripers who cross this new border, and arrive at the halfway point of this alpine route. The landscapes do not cease to give them desire to continue, they will rest nevertheless one day in a lodge in edge of lake, before taking again the road Thursday 30 morning.
Solar challenge : Emile Rivoire as strong leader!
We can already say that Emile Rivoire (Team GIANT campus – Hexatech) keeps his yellow jersey after stage 4. He reached the base camp in Bled, Slovenia, having ridden 540 km from Innsbruck and climbed 12 major passes, including through the Dolomites.
A total of 12,000 meters of elevation gain over the last three days. And since the departure from Grenoble we estimate that the total elevation gain is around 40.000 meters for the leaders!
Discover some pictures of these climbs, with the Emile, sometimes surrounded by the direct challengers : Hugo, Sibylle and Kilian. Discover also an overview of the graph of his itinerary and the climbed passes, it’s impressive.
The arrival in Bled
It is in the late afternoon that we meet on Tuesday, June 28, in our lodge on the edge of the lake Bohinjsko, 30km from Bled. It is with difficulty that some of us reach this new stage, crossing the Austrian border with 18% passages.
The SunTripers take advantage of their free Wednesday to work, rest, enjoy the lake and think about their next route to Conegliano.
