Thomas De Gendt enjoyed wearing the KOM jersey on stage 5 of the Vuelta a Espana on loan from Alexandre Geniez (FDJ), but will wear the blue and white jersey Monday after his efforts on stage 9. It's the second time in 2016 the Lotto Soudal rider has lead the KOM classification at a grand tour following his efforts at the Tour de France in July.
"I had a really good day in the breakaway today. One rider of the team had to be in the breakaway today because we knew that there was a big chance that a rider in the breakaway could win. We got away pretty early in the stage even though some teams tried to neutralize the breakaway because Frank or De La Cruz could endanger the GC," De Gendt said.
The 30-year-old crossed the Alto del Naranco finish line in eighth place for his first top-ten result of the Vuelta and explained that he knew the finale would be too tough to contend for the victory.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I was in a really strong group of riders that are all capable of riding uphill. That's when I knew pretty fast that it would be hard to win the stage. On one of the climbs, where I took some points for the mountains classification, I saw I had a little gap and I kept going," De Gendt said. "I was thinking about going solo to the intermediate sprint. Anyhow, I arrived on this big road with headwind. I was alone and I knew that the finale of the stage was going to be hard so I slowed down and was reeled in by the chasing group. The second last climb of the day was too steep for me and the other escapees could show themselves better.
De Gendt and Geniez are tied atop the KOM standings on 19 points with the Belgian unsure how long he can hold onto the jersey but will continue to ride aggressively.
"Being on top of the mountain classification is a good consolation prize," he said. "It's a good intermediate goal in a Grand Tour. If I will keep wearing the polka dot jersey is still a question. Tomorrow there's already a hard stage with an uphill finish, so I might lose it there already. However, this will be the way to win a stage here in the Vuelta. Maybe I can try and win a stage with a flat finale. Or maybe not because there aren't so many flat finals… But we'll see where I can get my chances."
Vuelta a Espana - Stage 10 Video Highlights
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2bEu002
No comments:
Post a Comment