"I don't have a win at all costs mentality, that's not in my nature as a person" - Fred Wright relaxed about repeated near misses for maiden win

After a season that saw him compete at the very front of some of cycling's biggest races, Bahrain Victorious's Fred Wright has been discussing his breakthrough year and how he plans to improve further in 2023.

Finishing in the top 10 of a Grand Tour stage on no fewer than thirteen occasions last year, Wright couldn't manage to achieve that elusive first victory in a three-week stage race. “Stage seven of the Vuelta stung the most,” he tells Cycling Weekly. “I know it was that because I've gone back through it. I knew I was the fastest guy there, I just missed the sprint there completely. I can see why I raced the way I did. I think I was too desperate for it, I wanted it too badly. I didn't think about it."

Read also

Route Analysis | Profiles & Route Vuelta a Espana 2023

Despite having come so close on so many occasions, an upbeat Wright refuses to put too much pressure on himself instead remaining calm and hoping the win will come to him eventually. "I don't have a win at all costs mentality, that's not in my nature as a person," he says. “I think what comes with the win at all costs mentality, it's easier to switch off maybe. Because you think you will win another time. I am still positive, and I think that's what keeps me going. I will always look to the next race.”

It's not just in Grand Tours either that the 23-year-old Brit made an impression, finishing 7th at the Tour des Flandres and it seems to be something that Wright is keen to improve upon in 2023. “Flanders was emotional because I went into it with loads of confidence, and then being in that select group coming into the final, it was all of the things that I want to be doing in my career,” he says. “I want more than seventh, I want to win."

Read also

COLUMN | Rating all World Tour team's 2023 transfers