🚴🇫🇷 DOUBLÉ OLYMPIQUE FRANÇAIS EN CYCLISME SUR ROUTE !! VALENTIN MADOUAS EN ARGENT 🥈 ET CHRISTOPHE LAPORTE EN BRONZE 🥉. (Eurosport) #Paris2024
Valter ("The journalists misunderstood me") and Tratnik ("I was too tired to think about road riding") reflect on their Games
CyclingMonday, 05 August 2024 at 12:14
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.
Il Lombardia 2024
The Pogacar effect: How Tadej has shaped the career of Matthews in a crucial way
Can Decathlon AG2R's big budget strike back against the 'Big Four' this spring?
The first of eleven in Zonhoven: Analysts Nys and Albert predict multiple scenarios for Van der Poel
2025 will be Tom Gloag's year: The team told me, "Just take a holiday, mate"
A story of regret and striking details: Dstny-CEO leaves cycling: "That definitely hurts"
Latest Cycling News
The Pogacar effect: How Tadej has shaped the career of Matthews in a crucial way
Can Decathlon AG2R's big budget strike back against the 'Big Four' this spring?
The first of eleven in Zonhoven: Analysts Nys and Albert predict multiple scenarios for Van der Poel
2025 will be Tom Gloag's year: The team told me, "Just take a holiday, mate"
A story of regret and striking details: Dstny-CEO leaves cycling: "That definitely hurts"
Popular Cycling News
Pogacar intimidates competition just before Christmas dinner with the most prestigious KOM in the training area
Lance Armstrong refused to speak with Tom Boonen for years: "And I was only 20 years old, you know..."
Cycling transfers WorldTour 2025 | Uno-X unwraps Christmas gift from Jayco AlUla: Grøndahl Jansen makes the move
Meanwhile in the peloton | Good news for Lars van den Berg: "But the road to the top is still long"
Cycling kits 2025: Movistar and Jayco AlUla embrace bold new designs, Bardiani revamps with focus on detail
Latest Comments
- Well explained, thanks for the clarity! Daniel DantasDanieldantas20-12-2024
- This is the kind of 'news' that belongs in a cheap tabloid. No matter how boring the offseason gets, nobody wants to read this.
santiagobenites19-12-2024 - I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024