Netcompany INEOS suffer a stroke of bad luck in the Tour de France team time trial: 'What goes around, comes around'
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Follow us on GoogleNetcompany INEOS was widely regarded as the top favorite for the team time trial in the Tour de France. The British team held the fastest time for a long time, but in the end, Visma | Lease a Bike, with Jonas Vingegaard, managed to pull off the win. Team leader Daryl Impey spoke with IDL Pro Cycling at the team bus about how they were feeling.
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So Netcompany INEOS was in the hot seat for quite some time after Filippo Ganna posted a blistering time. Yet the team was already left with a bittersweet feeling, knowing that Kévin Vauquelin had actually been designated as their man for Montjuic. However, the Frenchman suffered a flat tire five kilometers from the finish and was thus unable to contribute.
"We knew it was going to be tough. We had some really bad luck today with Kevin's flat tire and... well, when Plan A falls through, everything suddenly goes differently," Impey sighs. “But I think the guys rode really well; they adapted to the situation incredibly well.”
"In the end, we still had a great ride. You can tell from everything that we worked really hard for this, so of course it’s also a disappointment," said the South African, who would have loved nothing more than to have won the yellow jersey with his teammates.
"The goal was definitely to go for it with Kévin. So, well, today was just a bit of bad luck. We had some setbacks in the Dauphiné, too, so... oh well, our luck will turn around eventually. What goes around comes around— that’s just how it works. So it’ll all work out,” Impey says, staying optimistic.
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Arensman finishes 53 seconds behind
In the end, Ganna and Foss remained the main driving forces, while climbers like Thymen Arensman—who finished 53 seconds behind Ganna—and Egan Bernal had already had their turns earlier on. So they, too, aren’t going for the general classification right from the start of the Tour. “We’re just taking it day by day, you know. Like I said: we’re here to seize opportunities as they arise.”
"Today was just a one-day race for us. Bad luck is part of the game; we're already looking ahead to tomorrow," Impey concludes. "We still have twenty days to go!"
Unlucky Vauquelin is fed up
Vauquelin himself gave a brief response to Cyclism'Actu. "My legs felt pretty good, but they were inevitably affected by frustration. We rode really hard, we posted a great time—I hope the team can hold on to it; that's just how it goes in cycling."
"Ganna was very strong, but he had already wasted a lot of energy. The plan was for me not to ride, so I could tackle the final climb, which suited me very well. Because of that, we lost seconds. It’s a shame, but there’s nothing we can do about it. There will be even more frustration tonight; I haven’t quite come to terms with it yet,” sighs the Frenchman, who will get another chance on Montjuic on Sunday.
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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