Phonak's Axel Merckx had a quiet day at the office but wanted to give his view on the race to Cyclingnews: "It was a classic development of a stage race with an early breakaway and some teams that chase them [down] late in the finale to lead out a sprint. The last 50 kilometres of the race wasn't that quick like in the Tour de France, but that wasn't necessary as the break wasn't going very fast."
With tomorrow's uphill finish is uphill, it might suit the Belgian a little more. "I'm not super-super, so my fitness will not be any better in one day. Maybe we can work something out for Fabrizio Guidi; he's fast, strong and he's feeling alright, but today he got elbowed in the fight towards the sprint [finish]."
