Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale's Victor Lafay got off to a solid if unspectacular start to his 2024 Vuelta a Espana campaign in the stage 1 individual time-trial, clocking the 52nd fastest time.
The time trial was never a serious goal for the Frenchman in this Grand Tour however, as he enters with dreams of matching his success at the 2023 Tour de France and winning a stage. "I think I can win a stage yeah," he says exclusively to CyclingUpToDate from Lisbon. "I trained really hard to be in shape. I didn't have much time, but yeah, I really wanted to be at the start here to at least have a Grand Tour this year."
With the team also bringing potential contenders in Ben O'Connor and Felix Gall however, Lafay isn't the only one with goals. "I don't know if my legs are good enough to win a stage but I'm here to help my leaders too so we'll see what I can manage," he assesses. "We have a lot of chances to win with both Felix and Ben in the team."
Both O'Connor and Gall have proven Grand Tour top-10 pedigree with the Australian even finishing 4th overall at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year. Is a podium place in the offing at the Vuelta a Espana this time around? "Yeah it's a goal!" Lafay tells us. "We will try to go at least top 5 but yeah, we dream of a podium. With Ben, but maybe Felix can be in good shape after the Tour so yeah, we will fight for this."
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