Gadret moves up to fourth overall at Giro d’Italia

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As he finished fifth on stage 15 of the Giro d’Italia, John Gadret (Ag2r-La Mondiale) showed his consistency in all three gruelling stages in the mountains prior to the second rest day. It helped him move up to fourth overall.

“My stage win [stage 11 in Castelfidardo, ed.] has boosted my confidence for these three mountain stages,” Gadret told Cyclingnews in Pozza di Fassa. “Today was a day to just hold on as much as I could. I have a character of not giving up. That helped me in a stage like today’s. I’ve given everything I had.”

With one week to go, the Frenchman is obviously satisfied with where he stands. “Had I been told before the Giro that I’d be fourth on GC after two weeks, I would have signed for that,” he said. “Now anything positive that happens will only be a bonus. My goals are to be determined day by day. I’d love to stay where I am on GC. If there’s a way to move up to the top three, I won’t give it a miss, but people have to be realistic: [Alberto] Contador, [Michele] Scarponi and [Vincenzo] Nibali are superior.”

Stage 15 winner Mikel Nieve is just behind him after being the pink jersey on the road during the race. “Maybe he dreamt that he could take the pink jersey, but Contador knew exactly what he was doing,” Gadret explained. “His team set the pace when it had to be done. Now there’s one week left, so nobody can say that the Giro is over. Many things can yet happen but the hardest part of the race is behind us.”