Démare: “I gave it everything”

October 10 ^th 2021 - 17:07

Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ): “I never gave up despite a difficult run this season. I abandoned in the Tour, it wasn’t a good La Vuelta and then I was always up there but I didn’t get the win. We did everything well to keep believing and this time things went my way. To win the last race of the season, in this fashion, makes me really happy. When the route was more suited to sprinters, I came close, 2nd and 3rd… The vineyard trails have made it harder and I like it. We were two with Jasper Stuyven, and we quickly moved 10 or 15’’ closer. And then, we could see them just ahead of us, but we were really on the limit. They looked a bit at each other with one kilometre to go and we caught them. I also had to be wary of Stuyven because I know he’s fast in the sprint. Everyone was cooked so I wanted to launch from far away. I gave it everything, I really wanted that one.”