Valentin Paret-Peintre was one of the main animators on the final stage, going all the way with a small group that escaped on the last climb.
Granada, the beautiful Andalusian city located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, home to the stunning Alhambra and an important wine growing region, is where the last Grand Tour of the season finished Sunday evening.
Soudal Quick-Step finished it with a resounding victory in the bag, brought by Mikel Landa after a fantastic display of strength and panache, which made The Wolfpack one of the most successful teams of the season in terms of Grand Tour stage wins, with a total of seven racked up by three different riders: Paul Magnier, Tim Merlier, and Mikel, who at 36 years of age became one of the oldest riders to score a victory in Vuelta.
It was a Grand Tour where our squad was prominent from the first day, where Ethan Hayter finished runner-up in the Monaco individual time trial for the smallest of margins. During the next three weeks, Soudal Quick-Step continued to animate the race, getting involved in bunch sprints, going in breakaways, and getting closer and closer to a win, as shown by valentin Paret-Peintre impressive second place in Loja.
Sports director Sep Vanmarcke, who led the squad from the car in Spain, looked back on the team’s display at the Vuelta and highlighted their main strengths here.
We started this race without any GC expectations, but with the goal of getting a stage win.
“We had chances for a victory or a good result in many of the stages, and it was beautiful to see how everybody worked for each other, showing this beautiful camaraderie on a daily basis. We started off really well with Ethan, who came so close to taking a win and the red jersey. It was a bittersweet moment, but at the same time, good for the confidence to be up there. Ethan continued fighting in the next days and we got a lot of motivation from that start.”
We were present in many breakaways and were prominent the whole time.
“Valentin showed a great fighting spirit on the second week, where he came second after a great effort. That runner-up place was a confirmation that it was still possible to take a win, so we kept trying. We continued to believe right until the end, we kept doing our best and we showed that in the last week, when we finally got repaid for all our efforts. What Mikel did was really special. Everybody knows he has been struggling with injuries, but he is a great champion and showed his class. It was a win that came another superb team effort, everybody sacrificed for him and he delivered a big victory. It gave us all goosebumps and it was a proof that you should never give up before it’s finished. We can be proud of our fighting spirit in this Vuelta”, concluded Sep.
Photo credit: ©Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
