Read @mauro_schmid’s thoughts after finishing third at the #TourDownUnder and moving up the general classification: soudal-quickstepteam.com/en/news/5863/s… Photo: @GettySport
Mauro Schmid "wasn’t expecting to be on this level so early", finds himself in GC fight at Tour Down Under
CyclingThursday, 19 January 2023 at 18:00
It was a tricky day at the Tour Down Under, but from there emerged the main favourites. Mauro Schmid may have been the most surprising name after responding to Jay Vine's move on Nettle Hill, and the Swissman finds himself now in a strong position.
“I messed it up a bit in the middle of the stage when the bunch got split in the crosswinds. I just missed it. Then I had to chase and make a big effort to come back. I didn’t really feel fresh anymore after that, but I think everybody was suffering," Schmid said in a post-race interview. Although a strong puncheur, few would've had him in the main GC group of five riders when the attacks sparked in the final ascent of the day.
"On the last climb, Jannik brought me in a really good position and I entered it in the front. When the attacks came, I just tried to follow, as the feeling I had was good," he said. Although he struggled, he held on to the wheel, and was part of the group that held back the peloton. Schmid finished third in the day, taking 9 seconds plus 4 in bonifications on the riders that finished in the peloton. He now sits fourth in the GC, 13 seconds back on Rohan Dennis who won the stage.
“On paper, I knew that I was the fastest of the group in a sprint, but when everyone is on the limit after riding full gas, it’s a different sprint," he explains. Schmid's plan was to go for the stage win, where he had good odds, but it didn't quite fit the plan as he had hoped. My plan was to go first, but then a rider attacked and I had to chase."
"When Dennis went, I was on his wheel but lost a few meters out of the corner and I couldn’t close it anymore. On the other hand, a podium so early in the season makes me happy, because I wasn’t expecting to be on this level so early. Now the plan is to go for a good general classification here," he concluded.
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