THOMAS DE GENDT
S o, stage 19 of the Vuelta and it all comes together to get my stage win. It came in a way I didn’t expect. A small group sprint is not really my speciality and there were some strong riders in the group, like Rui Costa, Bob Jungels and Jarlinson Pantano. They’ve all proved at one time or another that they can be dangerous in that kind of situation. It was a headwind in the finishing straight as well so it was good that the Bahrain-Merida guy, Iván García, started his sprint early and gave me something to aim at.
Before that, we had to catch the break. I remember saying to Bob Jungels, “Do you want to ride for fifth or first?” Bob is a better time triallist than me so he did more of the work, but when we started getting close we knew we could catch Romain Bardet and García. In the sprint I could feel the effects of the whole race - I was way down on the sort of power I can do in a training sprint. But it was enough, so I’ll take it happily. Looking back on the whole day it was just experience, a series of right decisions and some luck that made winning possible.
I’ve totted up my attacks this year and I’ve been in attacking breaks for 2,850km across 23 breakaways, so I’m happy that it finally ends with a success in the Vuelta and I can say I’ve got a stage win in all the grand tours. People think it’s crazy I go in the break so much, but when it’s the only way I can win, I don’t really have a choice.
This was also the third time I’ve done the TourVuelta double and each year I feel I’m coming out of it a little bit better. Or, perhaps, just more able to manage the pain. This year, the last weeks of both the Tour and the Vuelta were really hard on me, but I felt I could drag myself through and attack when I needed to.
My individual goals are over for the season, but I’ve still got 10 races on my schedule. Some races here in Belgium, Il Lombardia and the new WorldTour race in China, the Tour of Guangxi. Lombardia’s a bit of a goal. Not in the sense of a result, but I’ve done it four times and never made it round. To complete it this time would please me a lot.
This year I’ve been in attacking breaks for 2,850km across 23 breakaways. I’m happy that it inally ends with a success in the Vuelta