Stage winner: Eddie Dunbar (Ireland, Jayco AlUllah)
It is a result that is even strange to me. I came to this tournament to compete for the overall ranking, but lost time in the early stages. I thought I was well prepared, but I didn’t have the legs for it. I changed my goal to win the stage and tried to escape today. I ended up using my legs there, but luckily I was able to join a bigger escape group. The runaway group ran very fast and I can’t believe this victory.
It’s been a while since I’ve raced in a race like this, so I was able to put my experience to good use. I was behind on the last steep hill and Filippo (Zana) was ahead, so I waited for my chance to follow. And in the end I gambled (attacked).
He’s good at hard sprints like today, and went in from a long distance with 600m to go to try and make a long sprint. That’s the only way I could win and I can’t believe it worked out.
– You’ve had a string of bad luck so far, including crashing out of your car at the Giro d’Italia.
I agree. Since last year’s Vuelta (where he retired in a car), he has crashed seven or eight times. I went through a difficult time both physically and mentally. Many times I thought to myself, “Maybe this is the end for me as a player.” Especially when I tore my LCL (lateral knee collateral ligament) at the Giro, I thought that my career was over. But my boyfriend was always there to support me, and I had an amazing family, friends and team to support me. It took us a while to get to this point, but with today’s win we were able to repay the favor.
3rd place: Max Poole (UK, DSM Firmenich Post NL)
After the first day I crashed, I was finally able to get back to racing. After that, I got sick. It was a fun race because I could escape with my teammates. At the last climb, I caught the first two riders, but I was caught by those behind me. In the end it became a tactical battle.
I want to congratulate Eddie (Dunbar) on a great run. He showed a powerful attack at the right time. Since there was no sign of them coordinating the pursuit, I jumped out on my own and left in front of them. I passed in the end and finished 3rd, but it’s just a race.
12th on stage & 10th overall: George Bennett (New Zealand, Israel Premier Tech)
I thought we had a chance to win, but Eddie won. What he did was exactly what I wanted to do. I’m really disappointed because my teammates helped me run well. We led the runaway group for 98% of the race. It’s a shame we couldn’t reward that campaign with a win.
No one helped us in our escape. It was a very terrible situation. I guess that’s because we were the only team that wanted to improve our overall time. I was thrown out just before the last hill, and even though I climbed the climb at high speed and caught, I lost the victory. I wanted to get about 6-7 minutes total time. If I get a chance within the remaining 10 stages, I will go for it.
Primoš Roglič (Slovakia, Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) is 37 seconds back on O’Connor
As I have said many times, it is better to win than lose. There is still a time difference (with O’Connor), but I can say it was a good day based on my condition and my teammates’ run. There are days when we win and days when we lose, but if we implement our strategy, we can win.
Mayorrojo Ben O’Connor (Australia, Decathlon AG2R La Mondial)
It was a tough race with some sharp hills at the end. But the worst was yet to come. Roglič was not the only dangerous competitor, and he had to take advantage of them.
The long mountains I face are more suitable for me. A cycle of good days and average days (not bad days). If possible, I would like to make every day a “good day”.
text: Sotaro.Arakawa
photo: CorVos
2024-08-29 04:02:07
#Dunbar #Victory #achieved #difficult #times #Roglič #good #day #time #Vuelta #España #Stage #Player #Comments #cyclowired
