Tears and gratitude: Campenaerts dedicates victory to transfer and 9 weeks (!) at altitude: "Girlfriend gave birth at the base of the climb"

In an exceptionally heartfelt flash interview, Victor Campenaerts reflected on his stunning victory in the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France. The 32-year-old Belgian from Lotto-Dstny, who had previously won a stage at the Giro d'Italia in 2021, realized his long-held dream of a Tour stage win on Thursday, and the ensuing emotion was palpable.

The eighteenth stage of the Tour de France, tailor-made for breakaway riders, was where Campenaerts and his team had set their sights for months. "Back in January, during the training camp, Victor said he had one dream, and that was to win a Tour stage. And we've done it today, wow," team director Dirk Demol shared with Eurosport. Thanks to recon missions, video preparations, and meticulous planning, Campenaerts entered the day full of confidence. "Maxim Van Gils is back home, but Victor was confident and already on the rest day he felt he could handle this stage. This morning he again mentioned that he has never lost a sprint from a group of two or three."

And he proved it by convincingly beating Michal Kwiatowski and Matteo Vercher in a three-man sprint. "Victor knew Kwiatkowski was the one to watch. There are only strong riders here, but he was the man to watch," Demol revealed. "We came here to win a stage and managed seven top-five finishes in the first few weeks. We were competitive, but if you don't win, no one talks about it. With this win and those other results, we are now very happy."

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Tearful Campenaerts is immensely grateful to his girlfriend

"Winning a Tour stage is every professional's dream," he later said in tears during the post-race interview. "I'm not a neo-pro anymore, I've dreamed of this for so long. I played it smart today, and the team had faith in me, knowing I had good legs. I've been targeting this since December, stage eighteen was the only one where I saw a chance for myself. Maybe I played it a bit dirty, pretending I was struggling to avoid taking too many turns. I had only one shot, followed the moves, and finished it off."

It's an incredible story, considering Campenaerts was not in a good place after the spring season. "After the classics, I had a very tough time because I had a verbal agreement with the team that I would renew my contract. However, I was ignored, and that was very difficult. I went on a long altitude camp, supported by my heavily pregnant girlfriend. I struggled to complete my training schedule there, but I made a mental switch, still have a bright future in cycling, and became a father. That brought me blue skies."

"I started to feel better on the bike and came to the Tour with a highly motivated team," Campenaerts continued, still tearful. "The atmosphere is fantastic, and this is the pinnacle. We will celebrate this tonight. The support I've had from my girlfriend is incredible. She's always there for me, even during nine weeks at altitude. She gave birth at the foot of a climb in Granada, I'm so grateful to her and the team for the extended altitude camp that allowed me to prepare for the Tour. The team had great faith that I would start in good shape here without race kilometers. I'm about to leave, but it's beautiful that we can experience the highlight of my career together. The Tour has three more days, but I can't wait to get home."