"Keep pushing hard on the pedals." That was the mantra Simon Carr repeated to himself as he rode for 45km alone, through the cold air, and on to victory at the Tour of the Alps on Thursday.
The Brit’s attack was a historic one, the longest ever to make it to the line at the Italo-Austrian race since it began in its current form in 2017. The previous best was 26.5km, achieved by… Simon Carr, on stage five last year.
"I think the stages are quite similar," he said. "That's what sort of suits me: getting in the breakaway, getting away on the climbs and keeping the advantage to the finish. I think that’s really something I’m starting to specialise in a bit."
Carr's latest victory came on the fourth stage of the five-day race – the queen stage – which counted almost 4,000m of elevation.
Having been part of the early breakaway, the 25-year-old shook off his final companion, Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe), at the foot of the penultimate climb – the steep, 9.3km-long Passo del Vetriolo – and powered solo to the finish line.
The plan, he said, was only hatched hours before. "For sure the DS's were discussing it last night, but we heard about it this morning on the bus," he said. "The whole team was going for the breakaway, or at least to try and get a couple of guys up there. We had myself and Hugh [Carthy] and that worked out perfectly."
Once Carr dispatched of Higuita, he faced 45 lonely kilometres. Snow fell in light specks, and all he could see was the grey tarmac of the road, tree-lined mountains either side.
What was going through his mind? "On the flat, to just stay aero, and keep pushing hard on the pedals," he said. "My DS, Juan Manuel Garate, was breaking it down for me, like, 'You've got 7km flat, then you've got 1km uphill, then 500m flat, then another kilometre hard, and then downhill to the finish.'
"It was just little steps at the time. When I came into the valley, and there was a headwind, it would have been quite hard mentally, because I still had 20km to go. The help from the DS, and staying focused, was the key."
The Brit originally came to the Tour of the Alps with GC ambitions, but lost time on the opening stages, and started day four over 38 minutes in arrears.
"I felt like I was the worst rider in the bunch for the first two days," he said. "I had some problems with allergies. It was actually really bad. I started to doubt quite a bit if my fitness was still there. But the team kept faith, saying that every stage was a new day, and to approach it with a new mind. That's what I did today, and luckily the legs were there."
After the finish line, with the icy wind on his back, Carr threw his arms around his two soigneurs and pulled them in for a hug. It lasted only a handful of seconds, but felt like more than a simple congratulations. No, it was an I told you so, a proud team vindicated that their belief was well-placed, and solace for Carr, glad that he never gave up fighting.
