Cycling: I finally really competed, and I dared to fight the legends – Attila Valter

– Two top-10 finishes in three days, including your first World Tour podium. You didn't talk into thin air when you said after your lavish Giro debut last year that you want to take two or three steps at a time for as long as possible.
– It feels good to be able to do it for the time being, but quite frankly, in the first few days of the Catalonian tour, I felt the opposite. I felt I was stagnating, and I was going backwards," said Attila Valter, 22-year-old cyclist for Groupama-FDJ, who finished eighth at stage 5, clinched a 3^rd place in the last stage, and accomplished an overall 38^th place at the 100^th Volta a Catalunya this weekend. He finished in the top 15 in all other categories.

– It wasn't an easy start, as was the UEA Tour a few weeks ago, and then you got the hang of it.
– In the early days after resting, my body isn't quite as warmed up yet, but I would add that the first stage in both races was brutal. In Catalonia, for example, it started with an easy escape, led by Bora, and everyone thought the plan was to sprint with Peter Sagan – I was even rooting for him. What I didn't expect was that Movistar would tear the line so frantically on the first downhill that we would have to try to climb back one by one at the base of the next mountain. Of course, one person has succeeded who is called Richie Porte (Ineos' Australian legend finished second in the overall – the editor). Most of us have lost our complex hopes here. At first, I was so disappointed that I started planning to add extra training camps in my head, but thankfully, I was able to take some of that back... The fact that if I had managed to stay there at the beginning in the first stage, I might've cycled for the rest of the race more on the safe side rather than trying so hard. I had nothing to lose, though, and I tried three escapes, which is a big deal, because that's not my specialty.

– But yet...
– I was surprised at myself. My experience in this area has increased by 100%. Joking aside, it was great to find out that I had a much better eye for escapes than I thought, and it proved that I have a place among the bests.

– Does appetite come with eating?
– Absolutely! I had to force my first escape, and after I felt my legs were in good strength, everything went its own way. I followed who was in front all along, and I was even able to focus on the tactics of Ineos who dominates the competition. I saw when he let his partners go, and that's when I could start. It's funny how in the two stages when I finished in the top 10, I didn't even want to escape originally, but I just felt so good that I had to try. I knew who to look out for and when to be on guard. It's rare to escape in the first half hour because you might not be able to keep it up. The critical point is rather at the first hour, and you can speed from there.

– It is also refreshing that you were also in competition for intermediate sprints points.
– That's why I said I finally really competed, and I dared to fight the much-seen, skilled legends. I didn't want to take Koen Bouwman down the mountain in stage 5 because he was competing for white-and-red striped jersey in the mountain classification. Maybe I could've done it, but in the end, it didn't matter if I got two or three points whereas it was important to him.

– Did sports director Philippe Mauduit's “jobation” work after the poor start?
– I'd say it's more of an incentive. In the press he sounded harsher than in person. He didn't scold us, but his criticism was legitimate, because we really perform well – as if we were a bit afraid. This is also due to the fact that our team basically stood out with a "B-line" or with inexperienced youngster like me, or with skilled foxes beyond their zenith— and we have overthought many things. In any case, it worked well for me, as you could see. Maybe we could've had a better result, though.

– Even better than this?!
– On Sunday, our director told me to keep an eye on Thomas De Gendt and Matej Mohoric, and once they escape, I should go with them. I didn't go— and (not) much to our surprise, that was the order of the first two places. At the time, we thought there was too much to go until the finish, the chase was big, and we'd catch up to them at the end. Well, we didn't. It might've have been a victory, because I did have had the strength to go with them, and they couldn't have broken me away on downhill or flat. Plus, I'm definitely better in uphill. So, it could've been even better, but I'm not insatiable. I'm trying to enjoy my first World Tour podium. We definitely learned from the race. In one hand, we learned to believe in ourselves, because we are able to be among the bests, and on the other hand, we need to take our sports leaders' words at all times, in all circumstances, because they are professionals with great knowledge. They've been through so many races that they've got the profession on their sleeves, they can easily predict scenarios or even complete stage results.

– What's the next challenge?
– The Tour of the Alps in April, then Giro!

Translated by Vanda Orosz