Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), in his second year as a professional and in his first Tour de France, won stage 14 in a sprint finish in Lyon. It was the first Italian stage victory in the Tour since Alessandro Petacchi in 2010.
Trentin used his experience as the second to last leadout man for Mark Cavendish in his own sprint to victory as a group of 14 had come to the finish of the 14th stage after being on the attack for 150km. "With Mark we always plan the sprint before the race," Trentin said. "Every time we plan, so I have to start from this point, and arrive at that point. Gert has to start from that point and bring Mark to, I don't know, 250 or 200 meters. The thing we always say is 'be calm and wait for the right moment.' Today, I just waited for the right moment. Because I saw the wind, and everybody that started before me in the sprint for sure would come back because it was too strong to make a longer sprint than 200 meters. I just waited because I knew that my good sprint is 200 meters or less. When I saw the 200 meter marker, I started and that was the key of my sprint today."
Trentin continued, "After two years of professional cycling, I’ve tried almost everything. I did the Classics, I did the Giro earlier this year. For sure, I love the Classics but I think I have to grow more to be sure if I’m to be this rider or that rider. We can see in a few years."
Photo: courtesy of SIDI; Trentin wears the new "Wire" model shoes
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BRAVO Matteo!
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