The German attacked his elite chase group and held on solo in atrocious conditions to finish fifth on the stage. He is now third overall with four days left to go in the French stage race. Georg will start stage 5 in the white jersey as best young rider after his heroic ride across the hills between Bourges and Uchon.

“Days like this are super hard,” Georg said. “There were crosswinds right from the start. It was hectic, but I managed to be in the first group together with Kasper. We were just staying calm, and then there was this nasty crash. I was lucky to avoid it. I wasn't in the first group after the split, but I had the legs to do a good effort and finish a strong stage. When I went on the climb, I was sure that riders were going to follow me, but they didn't, so I decided to just risk it all and go for it and see if I could survive it all the way to the line.”

Georg did more than survive. He put close to a minute into his nearest chasers and is now firmly in the race for the Paris-Nice podium as the peloton speeds towards the Riviera. Tonight, he and his sports directors will come up with a plan for the coming days. At the moment, he is just enjoying the moment and the best young rider’s jersey on his shoulders.

“I haven’t even looked at the results yet,” Georg said after the finish. “I just know that I wear the white jersey, which is nice enough. Definitely the team and I are going to have to figure out the plan for the next days.”

Enjoy, Georg. And good luck!