"I have thoroughly enjoyed it" - surprise of the day Victor Campenaerts after his fifth place in first Tour time trial

Victor Campenaerts may not have been the fastest Belgian in the time trial from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin but unlike his compatriot Remco Evenepoel's victory, which was widely expected, Campenaerts' top 5 result came seemingly out of the blue. In fact the 32-year-old was the best among humans, losing only to the 'big four' (Evenepoel, Pogacar, Roglic, Vingegaard).

It's even more surprising to the Belgian, who had hectic few weeks ahead of the race, he reveals: "My son Gustaaf was born three weeks ago in Granada," Campenaerts told Het Nieuwsblad after crossing the finish line. "That was quite an adventure. I was on a high-altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada. My girlfriend is a hero: she was also at altitude, nine weeks, heavily pregnant. And when her water broke, we drove down the Sierra Nevada to Granada, where Gustaaf was born."

"After the altitude training we drove home by car, for the Belgian Championship on the road, with our little boy at the back," he continued. Along the way, the also passed the Dijon region where the first time trial of this year's Tour de France took place on Friday. "And we stopped here to do the reconnaissance of the time trial. That was a suggestion from my new trainer, Kobe. 'Why not', I thought. I saw that it was a formidable course. Certainly to my liking."

And so Campenaerts once again pulled out all the stops in the discipline in which he used to excel as evidenced by the two European champion jerseys hanging in his wardrobe. "I wanted to give everything in the time trial, maybe for the last time in my career. My ambition was to be in the top 10. And when I saw the starting order, I thought: 'I have to set the best time at my finish'. Even if it was only for a short time, with Küng and Van Aert behind me. Wherever I finish, I have enjoyed myself. I have thoroughly enjoyed it."