"I was supposed to do a lead out" - Ide Schelling sprints to surprise third at the Volta a Catalunya following Patrick Konrad crash

With Patrick Konrad falling, Ide Schelling was given the freedom by BORA - hansgrohe to go for the win himself at the Volta Catalunya and whilst he didn't quite manage victory, third behind Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel is still a good showing.

“Yes it was a good sprint. We had the plan to go for Patrick Konrad. I was supposed to do a lead out for him, but he was involved in a crash," Schelling explained to Eurosport in the aftermath of the stage. "It was unclear at first, but then I unfortunately realized that he had fallen. Then I thought: let's go for it!”

“I had already lost some energy, but I still had the legs to sprint with. I was around 25th position, which is okay, but luckily I was able to follow the good wheels and I had good legs," he continues. “In the heat of battle I had no idea who was where. I focused on my own sprint, but it's cool to be on the podium with those guys. That doesn't happen often. I am satisfied. When I came here, I didn't know if I'd be any good. I did have a few good weeks of training for this, around here in Girona.”

Looking forward to the rest of the race, Schelling isn't getting to ahead of himself despite the positive early signs. "I am not a climber, so I don't see myself doing anything for the general classification here. But there may be opportunities in stages four and six and of course there is the final stage in Barcelona."