Julian Dean masterminds Vuelta win
Julian Dean never won a Grand Tour in 19 attempts as a professional cyclist. But in his first race as a sporting director, he’s just gone and won one of the biggest on the World Tour calendar.
‘‘I was just saying to the boss that I’m going to retire today,’’ he joked.
When Simon Yates crossed the finish line in Madrid yesterday to secure his first Grand Tour victory at the Vuelta a Espana, Dean was celebrating in the Mitchelton-Scott support vehicle, having just masterminded the team’s greatest triumph.
Dean, regarded as New Zealand’s greatest road cyclist, said he was thrilled for 26-year-old Yates, who finished 1min 46sec ahead of runner-up Enric Mas through 21 stages. George Bennett, the only Kiwi in the race, ended up 35th.
‘‘I’ve been in the sport for 20 years and I’ve never been in a team that’s won a Grand Tour because it’s quite extraordinary just to win one, whether it’s the Vuelta, the Tour or the Giro, it’s really a big deal,’’ he said.
‘‘In terms of Simon’s case, there’s still some improvements to be made but he’s a breath of fresh air at the moment because cycling is so controlled by outputs, watts and heart rates and all that sort of thing.
‘‘But he’s a little unorthodox, he attacks when he’s got the leader’s jersey and he’s quite unpredictable. He brings back a bit of the old passion that people had about cycling before the technology.’’
Dean has been working for Mitchelton-Scott in various roles after his retirement from professional cycling in 2012. But the stars aligned leading into the Vuelta and, following a staffing restructure, the 43-year-old was asked to guide the team as sporting director – which is essentially the head coach.
‘‘I guess from all the different aspects I’ve been involved in I was just able to put some stuff together and bring a plan to this race and execute it. I probably could’ve jumped straight into being a sporting director, as many people, do but I think the difference of being in the background for four or five years learning the ins and outs of a complex environment [has certainly helped].’’
When Dean wrote down his targets for the Vuelta, it was not win the red jersey or to get Yates on the podium. Dean simply wanted his team to be consistent across the three-week race. That message was a result of their failure at the Giro d’Italia earlier in the year. After spending 13 days in the leader’s jersey, Yates cracked when Team Sky attacked on stage 19’s climb up Colle delle Finestre..
‘‘To be honest when I looking through the goals and objectives this morning that we set a month ago, our whole idea was to complete a good, consistent three weeks. Obviously we dropped off those last four days of the Giro and came a little bit unstuck,’’ Dean said.
‘‘But as such I didn’t set that we were going to win the Vuelta or we were going to podium at the Vuelta. The idea was to be progressive and to get better through the race. ’’
Dean said he hopes to return to Spain for another shot at the Vuelta next year. But for now, he plans to celebrate the victory with a family holiday in Europe.