Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s sports director talked about the team’s excellent run so far at the Spanish Grand Tour, but also about the way the sport has changed in the last couple of years.
“The team did a very good race until now, and Tuesday the victory that we wanted so much finally came. Remco deserved to take a win here, he already showed that in the mountains and we are happy for him. The team is motivated, all the riders did well, and are determined to continue in this vein, even if we are just in six, which is not easy when you look over the next stages.
We tried to go for the GC also in the past, at the Giro and the Vuelta where we podiumed, and we would be happy to repeat that. But we continue to race without pressure and do our own race, because the Vuelta is still long and many things can happen. The jersey brings more confidence, the team has shown an amazing fighting spirit – not only in this race, but throughout the season, which hasn’t been an easy one for us – and we’ll just go ahead and do our thing with the same tenacity.
Seeing what Remco has done and achieved here until now is special, I am happy to witness it from the team car. I remember him from the first training camp with the squad, how motivated he was; then I was there for his first race in Argentina, and it doesn’t come as a surprise to me to see where he is at the moment and what he is capable of in this Vuelta.”
