With 2014 nearing its end, and 68 overall OPQS victories (64 road, 1 cyclocross, 3 track), it is time to recap the best 10 moments of the season. While it was difficult to pick just 10 out of a highly successful year, these moments certainly stood out and deserve special mention.
Our fifth best moment is the win of Matteo Trentin at Tour de France Stage 7.
In his second Tour de France of his career, Trentin also got his second stage victory. He won the stage of 234.5 kilometers on a breathtakingly close finish that was decided by about the depth of a tire.
Peter Sagan (Cannondale) caught him just before the line, but was unable to pass Trentin in time thanks to a bike throw. Trentin launched first out of the peloton after being led out perfectly by teammate Michal Kwiatkowski in the white jersey. Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Belisol) was 3rd
"It was really difficult to know what happened at the time, It was a really close sprint," Trentin said looking back on his victory. "I was sure that Sagan beat me, they were already interviewing him as if he was the winner and I was the loser in 2nd place. Then two or three minutes later I heard over the radio from Fitte (Wilfried Peeters) that I won, and I was already in the middle of an interview at that point talking about how you can't win them all, so I went from being a little bit sad to realizing I won the race. It was a big swing of emotions after a great day of hard work from the team. I was super happy to finish the job."
Omega Pharma - Quick-Step had already finished inside the top 5 of several stages, constantly fighting for a possible stage victory despite the loss of sprinter Mark Cavendish after the first stage. Michal Kwiatkowski moved up to 4th in the GC after all the hard work of himself, as well as the entire team. OPQS worked just as hard in Stage 7, helping to chase down an original six-rider breakaway, and protecting key riders despite several crashes.
The peloton kept the pace high through the two late race Category 4 climbs, but Kwiatkowski and Trentin were able to keep themselves near the front even after Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) launched an attack in hopes of preventing the bunch sprint in the final kilometers.
Looking back on 2014 at training camp, and how Trentin has evolved as a rider including two victories at Le Tour, the young Italian said he is still developing his talent within Omega Pharma – Quick-Step.
"First of all my goal is to further improve in the Classics, the first block of races in my year," Trentin said. "Since it is still only the winter I haven't quite figured out what goals to set beyond that point. Cycling is more than 140 or 150 races you can do, and we do 80 to 85 of them. You can always put your level higher with all of these opportunities and different types of races. Even if I have already won a couple stages of the Tour de France, which is a big honor, if I am only happy with that, I will never improve. You can be happy with these victories and still not be satisfied overall as a rider. I am eager to grow with teammates who work so well together and a staff that is knowledgable and supportive."
Racing isn't the only thing in Trentin's future he is looing forward to. He and his girlfriend are soon expecting a baby boy.
"I found out about my girlfriend being pregnant around the time of AMGEN Tour of California last year," Trentin said. "It's a really nice feeling to be expecting a child. Right now there is no stress, but in January I'll be keeping my phone in my pocket during training in case I need to fly back for the birth of my son (laughs). It's an exciting time for me on and off the bike."