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| Thomas De Gendt winning Stage 7 of Paris-Nice after an impressive solo effort. |
Thomas, first of all, congratulation on your marriage and your amazing performance in Giro d�Italia. Now when it�s been some months, have you realized what you actually did back in May?
I haven�t really thought about it. I got a lot of attention from the media and from the other riders and of course a lot of attention from the people in Belgium. I can see in the way that I�m not being allowed to attack much anymore. I tried to attack really hard in Eneco Tour, but even though I was way down in the general classification I was never allowed more than a 100 meters gap. I guess that is the impact of what I did in the Giro.
I know you had been working hard to peak in the Giro this year, but since you never really had been going for the GC in a Grand Tour before it was more like a trial-run for the Vuelta. Do you think you can make another podium in Spain?
I don�t really aim for the GC now. It�s true that I went to the Giro to use it as a trial-run for the Vuelta, but since I was up there in the GC I had to dig deep in the last week. So even though I had the Vuelta as my goal I�ve actually already got my podium spot this year and that cost me a lot of energy. Therefore I don�t know if I will be able to go hard in another Grand Tour this year already. And to be honest, I don�t feel as good right now as I did just before the Giro.
Like Contador you used Eneco Tour as warm-up for the Vuelta. Are you satisfied with the answers you got?
Not at all. The first days were very difficult for me and even though I got stronger during the race I never really felt good. I decided not to finish the race in order to save some energy for the Belgian National Time Trial, but that didn�t went the way I wanted it either. I didn�t feel I had any power in my legs and I�m really disappointed with my performance.
Looking at the route for the Vuelta, what do you think about it? Does it suit you?
I haven�t really checked out any stages, but I know there are some uphill finishes already in the first week. Personally I�m happy that the stages are shorter than in the other Grand Tours. Short but hard, just like I want it. Still, I will just take it day by day and make a status after the first week. As I said the GC isn�t really a goal for me from the beginning so I won�t cry if I�ve already lost a couple of minutes after the first stages.
Alberto Contador is the big favorite for the overall win. Do you think anyone can beat him without any bad luck?
I think we can already name the winner. Contador will win this Vuelta, but I think Froome will be up there too. He might be tired after the Tour, but I expect him to be in the mix. The last guy I see for the podium is Rodriguez. I don�t really think there will be any other riders able to follow these three.
What do you think about the Vacansoleil-DCM team for the race. Anyone specific we should keep an extra eye on?
I think Pim Ligthart. He has a very good sprint after a hard stage and there should be a lot of stages that suits him well in this Vuelta.
Last one. What is most important for you in this Vuelta; a stage win or Top10 in the GC?
I would say a stage win, but then again it depends on place in the Top10. There is a big difference in being number 4 or being number 9 for example. If a Top10 spot means being 2nd, 3rd or 4thI would pick that over winning a stage, but compared to ending 10thoverall I would take the stage win right away.
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