South African teenager Damon Fouchee achieved a highly commendable sixth place overall in the Vuelta Ciclista a Valladolid three-day stage race that ended in Valladolid, Spain, on Sunday.
Fouchee started with a bang, taking the yellow jersey after the first stage despite the setback of a crash early on that damaged his bike.
Unfortunately he relinquished the yellow jersey after a hard battle in the second stage.
“I also had the honour of taking the red jersey, which is determined by points depending on your placement in a stage, but with all my focus on the general classification that one slipped away as well.
“I’m still satisfied with sixth overall in such a big tour in Spain. It is the biggest result I have ever achieved.”
Damon Fouchee won the yellow jersey on stage one of the Vuelta Ciclista a Valladolid in Spain at the weekend. Photo: Supplied
The 18-year-old said he did not expect a top result because he knew he was going to face some of the best riders in Spain and strong teams from elsewhere in Europe and the rest of the world.
“I kept my faith and believed there was a chance if I gave it my best. Keeping up with the young guns of Europe is also a confidence booster, but I now know I have so much more to learn.”
As this was his last race before he flew back home, he felt it was important to end his stint in Europe with good results.
“I aimed for a good placement overall and I was eager to take a stage win as well.”
For Fouchee, stage one started fast and hard with lots of attacks due to riders chasing the hotspot sprints. Around 50km in there was a crash on a descent in the middle of the bunch.
“I was on the back after returning from the convoy for feeding. Unfortunately, I didn’t see this in time and went down as well.
“As I got up I found out that my front wheel was buckled. Luckily our team manager and mechanic were there for support.”
After he got his spare front wheel he jumped back on the bike as quickly as possible and started to chase. When he caught up with the bunch another big crash caused a split in the bunch, which he was again caught behind.
“After a hard chase we caught the main bunch. Shortly after around 65km I managed to get in a break of 12 riders that stayed away till the end.
“As we approached the last 2km, the attacks started flowing for stage honours. The last 500m was on a steep uphill drag and as we turned on to this drag the rest of the riders started to sit up.”
Fouchee used this opportunity and started his 500m sprint, giving it his all for the win.
“I was super stoked when I crossed the line in first [place].”
The second stage was a hard battle for him in the time-trial as he faced riders with full kits and bikes.
“I kept the faith and gave it my best to stay in the battle for yellow, but against my own expectations I only lost 10 seconds overall.”
Later that afternoon they had a short stage of 70km in which Fouchee was planning to make a move, but unfortunately he was heavily marked and struggled to make things happen.
“The top two GC contenders played their cards and got in a break of six riders, which I missed. Luckily my teammate Matthew Fortuin was there and helped a lot to keep the gap under control. At the end of the day I was 29 seconds down overall, placing fifth.”
The third stage was another tough battle. Fouchee managed to get into a couple of breaks, but they were all neutralised by the big GC-contender teams.
“Matthew came to the rescue a couple of times as he helped me each time there was a sign of danger in the race. This helped me a lot to stay in the battle for GC.
“In the final 25km I attacked again and a break of eight formed with the bunch chasing hard. We were caught with 12km to go.
“I kept trying to break away, refusing to give up. Unfortunately all my attacks were neutralised, which left me with an empty tank hanging on for life and death in the bunch as we rolled over the line. I moved to sixth, just 29 seconds down on GC.”
The highlight of the tour for him was his stage victory on the first day.
“It was a huge and emotional win for me,” said Fouchee, who also won the orange jersey for his aggressive riding in the Tour du Valromey a week prior to this tour.
“This was also quite unexpected, but a great honour to stand out as an aggressive rider on a stage with a strong field of European riders. This indicated that I was noticed by the race organisers and it shows that I can perform in an international field like this.”
Fouchee said it was amazing to compete at such a high level.
“Mentally you need to be very strong. Not only is the racing aggressive, but also the vibe in the peloton. You need to fight for every inch on the road. Punches thrown, intimidating comments, and through it all you need to try and focus on the race and your own strategy.
“Then you’re pushed to the limit to just keep up with the pace, but that is exactly why I’m here and I love every second of it.
“Now I’m looking forward to learning more from racing in Europe and I hope to return in 2020.”
