Giant Alpecin's Tom Dumoulin has said that the ninth stage of the Vuelta a España worked out well as he took victory and took over the race lead.
Dumoulin, who beat Chris Froome to win, said to his team's website: "I felt very good during the stage, unlike yesterday when I did not have the best day, so I wasn’t really expecting it. But the stage worked out surprisingly well. My tactic for the final climb was to attack on the flatter part and hang on on the steeper part. I could never have imagined that I could win a stage like this, but I’m in the form of my life.
"I’m really happy with the first week and my form, as I didn’t know exactly what to expect at this Vuelta. I’m proud to be back in the leader’s jersey now, and I will see day by day how it goes from here. We are not on the big climbs yet, but my climbing is improving and I’m climbing well."
His DS Christian Gulberteau said: "It is an amazing win. This is really unbelievable. Yesterday he didn’t have his best day and had some doubts as well, which is normal after a week of racing in a Grand Tour. We talked to him this morning and he was really motivated again to redeem himself.
"During the stage he was strong and had great support from the team. After the first climb there were still three guys left to help him. On the final climb he attacked three or four times and eventually won the stage.
"It’s a great feeling having the leader’s jersey back in the team. It’s fantastic that we can defend it in a Grand Tour. There are some hard mountain stages coming up, and we’ll have to see what we can achieve and take it day by day, just as we’ve done so far.”