Herrada on very emotional win at Vuelta a Espana: "We are going to try to enjoy our victory as much as we can"

Jesús Herrada was one of Cofidis' best cards to take a win at the Vuelta a Espana, and today the French team have completed their goal, as the Spaniard took his second career win in the race after a resistant breakaway held off a bunch sprint.

“It is hugely important. It was very difficult for me to get into the breakaway. I felt like when I went over the climb I had to put a lot in there," Herrada said in a post-race interview. The 32-year old had gotten in the day's move, which was fiercely chased by the peloton throughout the entire day, but just barely managed to resist due to a lot of climbing quality and collaboration throughout the whole day. "Six of us went really well and then we were down to five. Then I just gave absolutely everything at the very last but it was a balancing act. Everything, the terrain, the wind was in our favor," he said.

Despite several teams pushing the pace very hard, the quintet managed to survive the chase and entered the final kilometer with enough lead to battle between each other for the win. “It was a craziness. Three kilometers from the finish we didn’t have any references as to what our advantage would be. So we weren’t sure. We had to be patient and try, but we didn’t know the time gaps," he described. 

"So it was nervous. I was on Fred’s wheel but I trusted my own speed at the end. I held it very, very late and then I went for it," Herrada said of his sprint. Fred Wright was the man to beat, but having launched his sprint too early, Herrada found himself with the speed to go through in the final meters, and take a very emotional win - with plenty tears after being confirmed the winner.

"I’m just delighted that I won... Tomorrow is going to be a very tough day, I know that. We are going to try to enjoy our victory as much as we can," Herrada concluded. He'll have more opportunities to succeed, but Cofidis will in the meantime seize this big day.