Alexandre Geniez won today’s queen stage of Vuelta a Espana. The Frenchman is very happy and will remember the moment he passed the finish line for the rest of his life.  

“My first pro win was at the 2011 Tour of Austria. It happened in similar conditions as today. Winning the queen stage of the Vuelta is something exceptional for me. I’d like to win more often but we, as climbers, don’t have as many opportunities as the sprinters. It’s great. I’ll remember this moment all of my life.”

It wasn’t the plan to win the stage, but actually Geniez was supposed to be a helper for his captain, Thibaut Pinot. But the favourites didn’t come up to the breakaway, so Geniez took the chance and drove away from the breakaway.

“Firstly I wanted to position myself at the front for being useful to Thibaut Pinot in case of the group of the favorites would come across. But thirty riders never form a very organized peloton. I wanted to go as far as I could and only keep motivated riders with me. I didn’t want anybody who was saving energy for later. A mountain stage victory must be well deserved. I hope I do. I gain a fair bit of time in the downhills. I hope this success will be followed by others.”

Alexandre Geniez hasn’t had the greatest season of his career so far, but today’s victory was the biggest the Frenchman has won yet.

“At Paris-Nice and the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, I suffered a lot from the bad weather. I’ve doubted about myself. Race after race, I found it hard to finish in a good state of form. I became confident again at the Dauphiné, which allowed me to get selected for the Tour. I’ve done okay at the Tour but as a team, we didn’t get what we wanted for some reasons. I came out of the Tour tired but not exhausted. The staff offered me the possibility to ride the Vuelta, which was not on my provisional schedule. I thought about it for a few days and I accepted because the Vuelta is better than other races for my development. It was the right choice. However, there’s one week left. It won’t be easy. I’m going to chill out first.”