Photo credit: A.S.O./Thomas MAHEUX
For this year's Tour de France we've teamed up with The Velocast to share with you their nominated Conquistador of the Day. During their daily stage review podcast, Scott and John will announce the rider who they feel deserves a special mention for their efforts that day.
As straightforward a choice as he will ever have for the selection of Conquistador of the Day from John Galloway of The Velocast. He's gone for stage winner Matteo Trentin of Mitchelton-Scott. Here's why...
Photo credit: A.S.O./Alex BROADWAY
"It's like Highlander - that classic film with Sean Connery and the other bloke who is The Highlander but I can't remember and I'm now regretting even mentioning it. It's got to be...and I have said this time and again...I do try and pick somebody slightly leftfield who demonstrates just what a team sport cycling is to show another aspect of how a team contributes to a victory. But today it can only be Matteo Trentin.
Photo credit: A.S.O./Alex BROADWAY
We saw him amongst the strongest of the opposition. Van Avermaet, Oss, Skujinš, Pierre-Luc Périchon - who did a majestic job trying to catch him before he was overhauled by the slightly puzzling Kasper Asgreen. But Trentin tried to break that group. It as too big, obviously too big, and in the searing heat as they approached Gap he tried to break that group again and again.
When he finally attacked just a kilometre before the start of the Col de la Sentinelle I expected him to be joined by one or two people, so it would be a selection but not the definitive victorious move. But instead he pushed on alone and in the interview afterwards mentioned how good it was for him to be able to make his own pace and chose his own line as he descended.
I am enjoying this tour more than any since 1993, and that makes me feel really old because that's 26 years ago. But genuinely this is the best tour I can remember since then. And this was a proper old-school win. It was a big breakaway with a massive gap of 15 minutes to the peloton. And one man just by sheer courage, force of will and sheer strength and fitness managed to break away from that big group, having been instrumental in making the selection earlier on. So it would be churlish to nominate anyone else. Trentin took a majestic win today, beautifully taken and reminiscent of the great Tours that I remember from when I was younger. It was a joy to watch, it really was."
Photo credit: ASO/Pauline BALLET
STAGE SUMMARY FROM ASO
Matteo Trentin delivered Mitchelton-Scott’s fourth stage victory since Daryl Impey claimed stage 9. Following the example of double stage winner Simon Yates, the Italian escaped from a breakaway group to arrive solo in Gap, fending off the return of Danish prodigy Kasper Asgreen. For the third year in a row, after Peter Sagan in 2017 and Alexander Kristoff in 2018, the European champion came up with a stage win at the Tour de France.
Photo credit: A.S.O./Thomas MAHEUX
33 riders in the lead
160 riders took the start of stage 17 at Pont du Gard. Two non-starters: Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) and Cees Bol (Sunweb). As expected, Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) was the first rider to try create a breakaway. After 5km of racing, a 34-man leading group was formed in several waves, comprising Daniel Oss and Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r La Mondiale), Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Omar Fraile, Gorka Izagirre and Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana), Simon Clarke and Tom Scully (EF Education First), Chris Juul-Jensen and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott), Greg van Avermaet and Michael Schär (CCC), Sven Erik Bystrom, Rui Costa, Sergio Henao and Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE Team Emirates), Bauke Mollema, Toms Skujins and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Nicolas Roche (Sunweb), Natnael Berhane, Jesús Herrada, Anthony Pérez and Pierre-Luc Périchon (Cofidis), De Gendt and Jens Keukeleire (Lotto-Soudal), Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin), Xandro Meurisse and Andrea Pasqualon (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Edvald Boasson Hagen and Ben King (Dimension Data). A puncture took Cort out of the front group. Having missed the move, Total Direct Energie chased at the head of the peloton before they changed their tactic and sent Anthony Turgis in a counter-attack along with Elie Gesbert from Arkéa-Samsic, the other team that wanted to contest the stage victory but wasn’t represented in the escape. Total Direct Energie resumed chasing but kept losing time until they surrendered while the leaders had covered 51.7km in the first hour of racing.
Photo credit: ASO/Pauline BALLET
Matteo Trentin away before the main climb
Deceuninck-Quick Step took over from Total Direct Energie. Argentine champion Max Richeze and later Yves Lampaert substituted Asgreen in the usual role of bunch driver as the Danish rider was part of the breakaway but they let the deficit exceed 15’. 37km before the end, the first attacks took place in the 33-man leading group. Mollema, Gougeard and Politt were the most active. Oss, Asgreen, Gougeard, Izagirre, Scully, Trentin, Van Avermaet, Stake Laengen, Skujins, Périchon and King managed to go clear with 30km to go. Gougeard got dropped in a non-categorized climb eight kilometres further. Trentin rode away solo before the bottom of the col de la Sentinelle 14km away from Gap. Périchon chased him down up the hill but was overtaken by Asgreen just before the summit. Trentin forged on to stay away and take his third Tour de France stage victory after 2013 (in Lyon) and 2014 (in Nancy). He’s the first Italian to win in Gap since Marco Lietti in 1991. Julian Alaphilippe retained the yellow jersey ahead of three Alpine stages.
Photo credit: A.S.O./Thomas MAHEUX
Conquistadors of the Day - Tour de France 2019
Stage 01 - Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team)
Stage 02 - Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
Stage 03 - Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step)
Stage 04 - Michael Mørkøv (Deceuninck - Quick-Step)
Stage 05 - Marcus Burghardt (BORA - hansgrohe)
Stage 06 - Geraint Thomas (Team INEOS)
Stage 07 - Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage 08 - Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal)
Stage 09 - Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott)
Stage 10 - Luke Rowe (Team INEOS)
Stage 11 - Peter Sagan (BORA - hansgrohe)
Stage 12 - Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
Stage 13 - Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step)
Stage 14 - David Gaudu (Groupama - FDJ)
Stage 15 - Thibault Pinot (Groupama - FDJ)
Stage 16 - Maxime Monfort of (Lotto-Soudal)
Stage 17 - Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott)
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