British rider Hugh Carthy, who has struggled at the end of the 2021 season, tried to chase down stage winner Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroen) in the summit finish of La Molina at the Volta a Catalunya on Wednesday.

While the peloton hesitated behind the Australian, the EF Education-Easy Post rider was one of the few riders who tried to chase O'Connor. Kersee's attack did not go well, and a long descent midway up the climb made it even more difficult to catch O'Connor.

But as Kersey told Cycling News after the stage, he feels more than satisfied with his form in the race so far, even if riders like O'Connor proved to be out of reach on Wednesday.

"He was very strong and clever on the climbs. He avoided a mess (at the back).

"It was a hard climb. Esteban [Chaves] went and I tried to go up, but I didn't have enough punch."

Kersee then tried to pick up the pace in the pack to bring O'Connor back.

Then, as Chaves explained, "everyone was gambling a little bit that O'Connor would run out of gas."

After Wednesday's intense skirmishes, it was clear that the crucial stage for the overall would be Thursday, with a 14-km climb to Boi Tauru. Carthy, however, has not ruled out further GC action on the final day in Barcelona's Parc Montjuïc.

Speaking to Cycling News early in the race, Carthy expressed confidence that he is getting into the swing of things after a rocky start to the season.

"I'm happy with my current situation. I got sick early in the year, had some minor things happen, missed practice in the first training camp, but I'm back on track," Kersee said earlier this week.

"It wasn't the best start to the year, but I'm better now than I was three months ago. We're better than we were a few weeks ago, not worse. So, onward and upward."

Carthy has once again made the Giro d'Italia his major goal for the season and will lead the EF Education - Easy Post team with Chaves.

"It's an exciting year and there are a lot of new teammates on the team, so there's a good vibe. 'We've had some bad luck with illness on the team, but hopefully we can get into a good groove. I'm ready to get into gear."

"The big goal is still a bit further away, but every race is important now to be in good shape for the Giro.

Before that, Kersee's race program will be the Circuit de la Sarthe and then the Tour de l'Alpes. But before that, in any case, there are still four days of racing left in Catalunya.