July 27/13 22:34 pm - Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian - San Sebastian

Posted by Editoress on 07/27/13
 

A week after completing the 100th Tour de France, RadioShack Leopard Trek’s Tony Gallopin brought his good form to the Clásica San Sebastián and rode himself into the winner’s circle with a perfectly timed attack in the final 15km. For Gallopin, 25, it was the biggest win in his promising career and made him only the third Frenchman to win the cherished classic.

Gallopin: “I was so tired after the Tour de France and even disappointed because I couldn’t win a stage. But this morning I immediately knew that I had super good legs. I like the one-day races but this is the first time I’ve done this race so it was really new for me. But I’m so happy. To be here on the podium with Valverde and Kreuziger means a lot to me.” The 234km race took place in San Sebastián'and included an all-star line-up of 66 Tour riders, including 14 from the top 20 and 7 from the top 10.

Tony Gallopin: “I already felt good on the Jaizkibel and then on the Arcale I could feel I was still good. As I knew Bob Jungels was coming back I didn’t dare attack but Alain gave me the green light. “

Team director ‘Uncle’ Alain Gallopin: “Tony told me he had good legs on the Arcale so I told him to go. Cycling is not complicated. I think the victory is well deserved. We didn’t start with one leader as we had many, many riders in good shape, like Bakie, Haimar, Tiago, Stijn and Bob. The fact that we’ve also won the Teams GC here illustrates the teamwork involved. Tony was probably the smartest guy as he didn’t waste his forces on the first climb of the Jaizkibel. Yesterday when we arrived from the airport we did a recon of that climb with Tony behind my car and he liked it. It was at that point he already showed his motivation.”

Riders from RadioShack Leopard Trek were active throughout the day, with several taking turns off the front in an effort to soften up the competition. On the second ascent of the Jaizkibel climb, Gallopin was part of a 13-rider selection who quickly established a gap to the chasers. Seizing the moment, Tony made his decisive attack on the second time up the Arkale climb. A chasing group formed behind him but true organization was never seen and with his head down and eyes forward, Gallopin time trialed his way to the finish line to earn the right to wear the traditional Basque txapela. Second and third places at 28-seconds went to Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Roman Kreuziger of Saxo-Tinkoff, both coming off strong Tour performances that put them in the top ten on the general classification.

2013 marks Gallopin’s fifth season, with today’s victory his fourth as a professional and his first for RadioShack Leopard Trek. This year he took the bronze medal in the French road championships and proved his worth by helping teammate Fabian Cancellara in his Spring Classics wins.

Gallopin comes by his cycling talent quite naturally and is no stranger to personal success. As the nephew of RadioShack Leopard Trek director Alain Gallopin and son of former Tour de France rider Joël Gallopin, Tony was brought up in the world of cycling. In 2011 he was fêted as Coupe de France Champion following in the footsteps of some famous winners of the season-long competition, including Thor Hushovd and Philippe Gilbert. In 2008 he won the U23 French Time Trial championships in addition to Paris-Tours.

Alain Gallopin continued: "One week after the Tour you will still have good Tour shape if you rest enough. Tony just did two criteriums and now he can forget his frustrating Tour. He crashed on the first day and in the last week he had bad luck with some mechanical problems. Today proved that you can never give up."

Tony: "I gave everything with the plan to see where I would be on the top of the Arcale. I was alone, so I decided to go for it alone till the end. This is nice for me after a season with illness or mechanical problems at bad moments. This is a nice start of something new. Not that I will ask to be a leader now. I will not change. The team can continue to count on me."

Echoing Gallopin’s enthusiasm was teammate Bob Jungels who offered his congratulations to Tony: “Le grand Tony! It’s awesome to again be part of such a big victory. I fell in love with this race today and I’m looking forward to the next years.”

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