"Jonas told me I must come to Vuelta to provide nose strips every day" - Victor Campenaerts jokes about his selection

Visma | Lease a Bike's latest Vuelta a Espana lineup addition Victor Campenaerts knows a thing or two about the mental warfare that is cycling up a mountain. But despite having previously focused at time trials and even cobbled classics, the Belgian has been able to climb with the best at Tour de France, impressing day after day with his ability. After such a display, it's no wonder that his Dutch employer was more than happy to include Campenaerts in the team that should assist Jonas Vingegaard in his quest for Vuelta title.

"Climbing is a painful affair. You have to be willing to endure a lot of pain," Campenaerts says about the tedious discipline in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad before the opening stage.

But the 33-year-old was still able to make a transition like not many before him and impress everyone with his performances at the Tour de France. "In the Dauphiné I climbed pretty well, but I never thought I could still be there in the Tour, in the top twenty on the hardest climbs. Yet in the race I was."

Campenaerts uses little tricks in the race to convince his mind to go the extra mile when legs refuse. "When I see Sivakov taking the lead on a climb I immediately think: you can hang on as long as he does. That creates a sense of pride. Sometimes you survive just one more acceleration and suddenly you are still there. That gives enormous confidence."

One of Campenarts' many rituals and details are nose strips he wears in-race. "The idea is that the body gets reverse feedback. When you are really suffering you normally start to hyperventilate through the mouth, but if in those moments you force yourself to breathe through the nose you give your body a signal to relax."

Although he admits the difference is marginal. "You should not expect wonders from those strips, but once you master the use a little, you still gain a fraction. For that reason I also had my nose hair epilated especially for the Vuelta."

Jonas Vingegaard even joked that those nose strips are a part of why the Belgian has been brought to Vuelta: "You must come to the Vuelta with me to provide nose strips every day." Campenaerts laughs. "A joke, of course - but I'm here, right?"