"I've never gone this deep before, it's a bit surreal" - Huub Artz near a shocking victory on Green Mountain

Adam Yates, Jan Hirt and... Huub Artz? Not many would have expected this 21-year-old rider to complete the podium of the Tour of Oman queen stage. Not even the young Dutch cyclist who only joined the development team of Intermarché - Wanty before this season and had just completed his first races with the WorldTour team in Oman.

"I also surprised myself. I felt good in the beginning, and because we haven't cycled much the last few days, I wanted to train a little more. That's why I joined the early breakaway," Artz begins his interview for WielerFlits.

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"I hoped to do something for the leaders, because I always assumed that we would be caught again. Still, I kept a pretty nice gap on Green Mountain itself, but in the last kilometer my legs were full. I also saw the four coming. It was still 150 meters, then you actually think you can't do it anymore. But then I pushed again on the bars to get third place. I've never gone this deep before. Of course I didn't think it would turn out like this, it's a bit surreal. This was always the dream. And it will take a while before I can believe it."

"I still ride for Wanty-ReUz-Technord, the training team, but honestly? I had been looking forward to being at the start here all winter. I hoped not to get dropped every stage. I had never even thought about coming third. Last year I still rode with Metec. When the team approached me in the summer, it sounded very positive. They had a good and clear plan for me. I got the feeling that I could develop here at my own pace," he says, using his older compatriot Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, who stepped up to World Tour this year, after similar career path.

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