Impey roars to Tour de France stage win
It has been a long time between drinks for SA cyclists after Robbie Hunter’s victory in 2007
Daryl Impey roared as he thumped the SA flag on his chest when he crossed the line to win the ninth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday.
His win, crafted from canny tactics and finished by a short and powerful sprint, was a rare thing for the country of his birth.
Impey became just the second South African to win an individual stage at the Tour de France, coming 12 years after his close friend, Robbie Hunter, won the 11th stage of the 2007 race.
It had been, said Impey, a long time between drinks for SA. “[This win] was something, from a Tour de France perspective, something that was missing. I’ve been in quite a few breakaways down the years and to finally nail it today was a dream come true. I don’t really have many words,” said the 34-year-old Impey, who rides for the Australian Mitchelton-Scott team.
A 15-man group, including Impey, got away not far out of Saint-Etienne and built a lead of over 10 minutes. Impey bridged to a splinter breakaway of Tiesj Benoot (Soudal-Lotto) and Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) on the last climb and stuck with the former as they dropped Roche.
Impey put in a big effort as they flowed towards the finish, knowing he had the better sprint on the run-in into Brioude, beating Benoot with ease.
“It was a stage I kind of marked as one for a breakaway and one that I could get in to. Yesterday [the eighth stage] we were pretty unlucky that the break went away straight away. Today, we [the team] were pretty active at the start.
“I found a lucky move and didn’t have to do too much to get in there. We all just worked really well together,” said Impey. “I just believed in myself. I played it quite smart there at the end. I knew I had to get up there with the guys on the climb. I haven’t been that emotional on the finish line for quite a while now.
“It’s fantastic to win at this level. The last stage victory for SA was Robbie Hunter in 2007. It’s been a long time between drinks. To win on Bastille Day, that’s a special memory.”
That is not quite true. Impey is a former stage winner at the Tour, having been part of the Mitchelton-Scott team when they won the team time trial in Nice 2013. That win put his Australian teammate Simon Gerrans in the yellow jersey.
Gerrans knew it would mean everything to Impey to become the first South African to wear yellow, and the team ensured the South African was in the right place at the finish of the stage into Montpellier two days later so he could take the lead in the race.
It was, coincidentally, in Montpellier where Hunter had won his historic stage in 2007. Hunter said on Sunday he always believed Impey was capable of great things.
“He’s a proper rider,” said Hunter. “I’ve always said that. He has heart and dedication, and he has the hunger to win. He was always going to be a rider who would do great things.”
The data from the Tour’s organisers told the story of Impey’s win without emotion.
He was 2.7km/h faster than the peloton over the 170.5kmlong stage. They built up the biggest lead of the Tour by any breakaway thus far.
It did not tell the story of what Impey, the SA champion who wears his country’s flag on his jersey, was feeling.
“This is a dream come true. Something I really wanted to do. I could not be any prouder. I know SA will be cheering on,” Impey said.