Danny van Poppel, 22, made no mistake with his first opportunity at contesting a bunch finish at the Vuelta a España, waiting until the perfect moment to launch his sprint in the final uphill meters to take the biggest win of his young career.
Van Poppel: “This was my first chance in this Vuelta. I missed the opportunities in the first week because I was not feeling good and struggled with the heat, and I was a little bit angry that I missed those chances. I knew that today was another chance, and I needed to take responsibility, and we as a team did it – it was a great job together!
“I felt really strong and then I know it’s hard to beat me on a little bit of an uphill. Especially also the guys – when I see the team pulling for me all day that really motivates me; it was really special.”
The 173-kilometer stage 12 was animated by a few tough climbs that needed to be conquered and a five-man breakaway that needed to be tamed, a far from an easy day for Trek Factory Racing who was at the front heading the chase with Giant-Alpecin for the final 70-kilometers.
Markel Irizar and Riccardo Zoidl put in kilometer after kilometer of relentless work, and when Lampre-Merida joined the chase in the final 25 kilometers the gap finally began to tumble.
Then, disaster struck.
Danny van Poppel punctured with just over 11 kilometers to go, and it looked like Trek Factory Racing’s bad luck had returned. But a super fast wheel change by the team’s mechanic, a hefty push by director Dirk Demol, and van Poppel was back into the caravan, leaping from car to car.
He made contact to the rear-end of the peloton where Fränk Schleck and Yaroslav Popovych were waiting; they jumped into action to bring van Poppel back to the front, while the green light was given to Irizar and Zoidl to continue their work pulling hard as the five men out front threatened to hold off the pursuit.
Teamwork made the difference.
“It was really a team victory today, “said director Dirk Demol. “All seven guys were a part of this win. What has kept us together and going strong no matter what is that we have good team spirit. So many things went wrong for us this year, but always we have kept working and believing, knowing that one day we will have something back and this was one of those days. Today really makes it all worthwhile, and it makes you keep enjoying what you are doing.”
“I was not sure at first if I had a puncture, but then I noticed I had a slow leak in the front tire and at first I thought maybe I could continue like that,” explained van Poppel. “Then I knew I had to change it, and it was a quick change and I came back behind the cars really quick. Markel and Riccardo had stopped pulling at the front and then Fränk and Popo [Popovych] helped me get back to the front. Popo did a great job, he put me in a really good position right in the wheel of [John] Degenkolb. It was a strange finish, a bit chaotic I think because there were a few attacks.
“Degenkolb took the wrong side of the road and I needed to go really early because I was a little bit in the back. So I went full gas and I felt I had a lot of power in the legs and I came really easy over the guys and I won. I am really happy!
“I was a little stressed when I had the puncture because it was not far from the finish. But the change was really quick and I know that I am feeling really strong and Josu [Larrazabal, director] and Dirk told me not to panic and be smart in coming back. By the time the team brought me back to the front, the finale started immediately. It was perfect timing.
“This is a big win for me – this is WorldTour level, which makes it really important and I did it today – yeah, I am really happy.”
