Eighteen-year-old American Adrien Costa continued to establish his place as one of the best young riders in the world this week when he took the overall win at the Tour de Bretagne, a seven-day French race that hadn’t had a US winner in its 50-year history.
"It hasn't really sunk in because I wasn't thinking about the overall win as a true possibility,” said Costa, who took the lead with a winning solo breakaway during stage 4.
“After I won that stage, I tried to enjoy that victory as much as possible,” he said. “I didn't put too much pressure on myself for the overall win. Just being a first-year Under 23 rider, I was already happy to have won a stage. So that kind of helped me stay relaxed. I just can't believe it."
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Costa won the general classification by seven seconds over Frantisek Sisr (Klein Constantia) of The Czech Republic and by eight seconds over Dutch rider Lennard Hofstede (Rabobank Development Team).
Costa is no stranger to putting in world-class performances, having twice finished second at the junior time trial world championships in 2014 and 2015. He made a splash in the US last year when he finished third overall at the Redlands Bicycle Classic - the opening race on USA Cycling’s national calendar – while he was still a junior. But the win in France this week, his first in the U23 ranks, is another milestone.
Although he normally rides for the Axeon-Hagens Berman Continental team run by Axel Merckx, Costa was competing with the US national team this week in France. USA Cycling U23 director Michael Sayers put Costa’s win into perspective.
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