"I'll keep trying and I hope that one day I'll get there" - Iván García Cortina upbeat following brutal Paris-Roubaix

Shattered by the enormous effort made, Iván García Cortina was kind enough to spend a few minutes with us after Paris-Roubaix. On the opposite side of the finish line, in the area set aside for the media in the velodrome, the Asturian explained his race.

The Movistar Team leader arrived at the Hell of the North with the goal of fighting to finish in the top 10, but he fell far short. He entered the main peloton 5 minutes behind the winner Mathieu van der Poel and, although the first of his group - Alexander Kristoff - crossed the finish line 15th, Iván arrived without strength, he could not compete in the group's sprint and ended up entering in 32nd position.

"I don't know how I finished, I don't think I made it into the top 20 again, I'm struggling," he told CiclismoAlDia. He was well placed in the leading group when van Aert's decisive attack came, but a couple of riders cut in front of him and he lost strength trying without luck to close the gap. Then, when Pedersen attacked, he couldn't jump:

"When van Aert and the rest went off, I was pretty well placed, but two cut in front of me and there I tried to close the gap and spent a lot and then Pedersen passed me and I couldn't follow him. Later in Arenberg we were still all together and there was a crash behind me that didn't allow me to keep up with the top guys. In any case, the Spaniard made no excuses and made it clear that the goal was the top 10 after the great cobbled tour he had accumulated.

"I tried, in the end the top 10 was the goal. After Arenberg my race started, there I wanted to get ahead, I tried a couple of times but it didn't work out, I spent energy there and then in the sprint everything was coming up for me".

Cortina, however, assures that he will return in 2024 to try to achieve his goal of finishing in the top 10: "Yes, without a doubt, in the end it's a super important race". And he regretted that, despite not having had any breakdowns, his legs had ended up failing him: "I know I'm not the favorite, but one day when the stars align and everything goes right and with a bit of luck, like today, for example, when I didn't have any breakdowns, it could be possible. Today it was my legs. In the end, I'll keep trying and I hope that one day I'll get there."

Before leaving for the Movistar Team bus to shower and rest as soon as possible, he revealed his plans for the coming months. "I think I do Amstel, then rest and then a Gravel race in Girona. Then, to prepare for the Tour de France to help Enric [Mas]," he concluded.