Clever move or dirty trick? August makes himself unpopular in Valencia

It feels like a forgotten art in modern racing, but sitting on is still very much part of the sport — and Andrew August proved it in the Tour of Valencia. The young American from INEOS Grenadiers did virtually no work in a four-man breakaway, then finished the job in the sprint. It won him the stage, but it certainly didn’t win him many friends. The question: does August care?

In any case, there was no sign of embarrassment. “I didn’t expect this at all,” August said in his flash interview. “With 50 kilometres to go, the team told me to ride on the front, but I stayed in the peloton over the climb. After that, I followed Vermeersch’s attack — and I had no reason to work. We had Ben for the sprint behind, and I used that to my advantage, and that’s what made this victory possible.”

August joined the move in the third stage of the Tour of Valencia (Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana) alongside Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates–XRG), Jonathan Vervenne (Soudal Quick-Step) and Adne Holter (Uno-X Mobility). While the other three riders took long turns and emptied themselves to stay ahead of a charging peloton, August sat glued to the last wheel — calmly pointing to the sprinter he had behind him as his justification. The breakaway companions were clearly unimpressed, but the tactic worked perfectly.

It marked the first professional win for the 20-year-old American, already in his third season at WorldTour level. “It wasn’t the way I imagined my first pro win,” August admitted. “But I knew I could save a lot of energy for the finale because the guys were going full gas. It wasn’t my role to contribute to that. I launched my sprint from the back and managed to cross the line first.”

Vermeersch finished third — and he didn’t exactly look thrilled afterwards. “I tried first, but the gap got closed,” the Belgian explained. “Then when that INEOS guy came through, I heard that Marc (Soler) had left a gap. I fully committed, and I’m happy I could make the difference. I’m unhappy with the result, but that’s racing.”

Vermeersch has a solid sprint, but had little left after the work he’d done. “Jonathan went early. I hoped he would go 100 metres longer, because then it would have been the perfect lead-out,” he said. “But he stopped a bit too soon, and I felt them coming from behind. I started my sprint, but I quickly realised they were faster. I didn’t have the best legs anymore, because I did a lot of work on the front.”

Vermeersch won Antwerp Port Epic in 2022, but has been waiting for another victory ever since. He may not be the purest finisher, but August certainly looked like one in Valencia — and Vermeersch couldn’t resist one more pointed line about the winner. “That’s racing, isn’t it? I was very good to be there, but I need to learn how to finish it off. That’s a bit disappointing.”