With a 10th place in the queen stage, Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) managed to defend the overall lead and take the victory in the Tour de l'Ain.

"I am very happy to have won this event," he told Directvelo. "I said before the race: "the rider in yellow on Friday evening will not win the general classification." Fortunately my predictions did not come true.

"It was very close. It was complicated in the end because no one wanted to ride, of course. Everybody had his own interests to defend. I thought that by accelerating on the descent, I could distance Domenico Pozzovivo. He is still cautious due to his crash in the last Giro. He was very strong on the climbs so I really wanted to get rid of him. 

"Five kilometers from the line, the group was still 30 seconds behind the leaders. I then assumed my role as leader and took things in hand. We were close to the two riders when they launched the sprint. 

"This victory makes me even more happy because the Tour de l'Ain was my first pro race. I was a member of Team France Espoirs. And today it is the first time that I win a stage race. It is really a race that suits me well. 

"I will now have a rest period. My season was grueling. Then I will take part in the Tour du Doubs and Tour du Gevaudan before finishing the season at the Italian classics. I also have another big goal: the World TT Championships."