Gilmore takes first WorldTour win in Barcelona as Iniesta watches on

NSN Cycling is sponsored by the company NSN, of which Andrés Iniesta is a co-owner. The Spaniard played almost his entire career for FC Barcelona and was present in his home province this week to watch how his team was doing. With two stage wins (Ethan Vernon won the fourth stage and Gilmore the final stage), they can certainly look back on a successful race.

The fact that Spain is also the team’s permanent home base is a nice bonus. Gilmore, however, indicates that the team isn’t entirely satisfied. “Montjuïc is a super-tough climb, but it’s more suited to the punchy riders,” the winner explains in the flash interview. “I felt good in my legs right from the start. We’ve been trying to put on a good show all week, and we’d already won a stage with Ethan (Vernon, ed.). But we came here for more.”

Still, you won’t see the Australian moping. He secured his first WorldTour victory, and you really couldn’t pick a better day to do it. “To do it with Iniesta here, to show him how racing works and to put the plan into action—that’s amazing,” he exclaims. “I fought until the end, never gave up, and I couldn’t be happier. ‘

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The speedy Gilmore knew what he had to do to beat Godon in Barcelona. ‘I’ve been thinking about this since yesterday. I was hoping a small group would make it over the top, and that I’d be part of it. I knew exactly where to launch my sprint; I’d studied it well. I thought about winning every day—that’s all I want. To do it on the WorldTour is fantastic.’

The victory comes after a disappointing week for him. He had set his sights on the win and the leader’s jersey in the first stage, but he finished no higher than 68th. “The first day might have suited me better, but it was my first time as a leader at the WorldTour level, and that got me a little too worked up. I wasted too much energy, but I learned from that today.”