“I was disappointed, but I did what I could” - Attila Valter disappointed with Strade Bianche result after strong start to the season

Having finished fifth overall at the UAE Tour in February, Attila Valter went into Strade Bianche with confidence at the weekend, as he was given a rare opportunity to lead Visma | Lease a Bike at a race where he has finished fourth and fifth in the last two editions.

However, the Hungarian rider was left disappointed on Saturday, as he finished in an underwhelming 19th place in Tuscany and was even beaten by his teammate Christophe Laporte, who finished tenth.

In an interview with In de Leiderstrui after the race, Valter said “of course, I was disappointed, but I did what I could. I was dropped twenty times, but kept fighting and came back twenty times. I kept believing, even though I knew I wasn't going to compete for the podium. That's why I still helped Christophe with a water bottle. He looked strong”.

Looking ahead to working for Jonas Vingegaard at Tirreno-Adriatico this week, Valter went on to say that “I enjoyed being the leader and hope the team knows what happened. They will give me the chance again, and I will fight for it. However, fighting for your leader is also beautiful, especially for a nice guy like Jonas. I’m looking forward to it, I can cause damage if I recover well”.