Valter ("The journalists misunderstood me") and Tratnik ("I was too tired to think about road riding") reflect on their Games

Visma | Lease a Bike saw four of their seven participants in the Olympic road race finish in the top ten on Saturday, and that didn't even include their star rider, Wout van Aert. Christophe Laporte (third), Attila Valter (fourth), Jan Tratnik (eighth), and Matteo Jorgenson (United States) defended the honor of the yellow-black team.

Bronze medalist Laporte has already been discussed, as has Jorgenson. The American was one of the few riders to race alongside Mathieu van der Poel and Van Aert, but eventually found himself caught in a French trap, from which Laporte secured the bronze. Valter, who finished fourth, also crossed the line with a clenched fist, giving many the impression that the Hungarian didn’t realize Remco Evenepoel was still ahead...

However, nothing could be further from the truth, as he told Eurosport. "It didn’t mean that I was thinking about a medal; it was simply a gesture of joy for my fourth place. I’m just really happy with it. I felt that no one would catch me, but perhaps a few foreign journalists may have misunderstood this a bit."

That’s not surprising, since Valter had to approach the race tactically as a lone rider. "I managed my energy well, but the last hour was really tough. Looking at my power output, it wasn’t an unbelievably hard race, but 272 kilometers is still very long. It was good to ride in such a small peloton, as it felt much safer. I enjoyed it, and racing without earpieces was also very interesting."

Read more below the video.

Tratnik: "Last week, I was too tired to even think about the road race"

Tratnik concluded his incredibly busy period—spring, Giro, Tour, and then the Olympics—with an impressive eighth place. "I have no words for it," the Slovenian shared on social media. "Last week, I was too tired to even think about the road race, but the Olympics remain the dream of every athlete," explained the iron man.

"Somehow, after this long first part of the season, I managed to motivate myself for one last push. I will never forget this eighth place. I’m proud, happy, and completely exhausted, so now it’s time to switch off for a bit and enjoy," said Tratnik.