Deignan seizes the day from successful breakaway!
Philip Deignan enjoyed a double delight in Thursday’s 18th stage at the Vuelta a España, taking the biggest win of his career in Ávila. In a two-up sprint with Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) the Irishman proved his mettle, swinging off the Czech’s wheel to sprint away to his first Grand Tour victory.
“It was very slippery in the last kilometers. I could feel my wheel slipping around. I thought for sure Kreuziger would attack me on the cobblestones in the last kilometers, but maybe he couldn’t,” he said. “Kreuziger looked strong in the group, so when he attacked, I went with him. It worked out perfectly.”
There were probably more than a few pints of Guinness hoisted when Philip Deignan ended the streak with victory in Thursday’s 165km, three-climb run across the Sierra de Gredos from Talavera de la Reina to Ávila.
The 26-year-old Deignan rode into the history books as the first Irish rider to win a stage in a three-week grand tour since Irish legend Stephen Roche won a stage in the 1992 Tour de France.
“It’s a very big day for Irish cycling. It’s been a big year for Irish cycling and this just caps it off,” Deignan said. “I cannot believe it. It just worked about perfectly in the final kilometers. I was just riding as hard as I could. At first I was trying to get time on GC. I knew Kreuziger was really strong, and when he went, I went with him.”
It was the second win for the Cervélo TestTeam at this Vuelta (Simon Gerrans won stage 10). With this victory, Deignan also jumped into the top 10 overall.
“This was a very important victory for me and my confidence,” said a happy Deignan. “I won in my first year as a pro in 2005, but I’ve had all kinds of problems since then, with a knee injury and glandular fever. I didn’t know if this was possible for me anymore. This will really help my confidence.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa2h6f47Nsk[/youtube]