This time, GC was long forgotten in the Vuelta, where bad luck, injuries, and crashes plagued the Australian world tour steed. Every day they throw the dice of a breakaway victory, fighting with their heads held high in an entirely different scenario.
Asked by Cycling News earlier this week if he remembered such a difficult Grand Tour, lead director Julien Dean replied: "Yes, I do. I've ridden 21 Grand Tours as a rider and probably 11 or 12 as a sporting director, and I can't remember a Grand Tour as tough as this for any team."
"When the team was first formed, we had high expectations, but when things started going wrong, it got a little tougher. In Madrid, we have riders who are capable of stage wins and podium finishes.
"Some of the other teams here probably don't have all those qualities, so if they had run as well as we did, it wouldn't have been as much of a problem. But we knew we were going to get everything we wanted coming in here."
The most dramatic turn of fate for Mitchelton-Scott came when Luka Mejek, who was clearly doing well, crashed and had to abandon the race with a broken hip. The Slovenian had been aiming to sprint in Oviedo.
GC contender Esteban Chaves also had some terrible bad luck, with two mechanical problems and a machine change. Dean said the bad luck came at the most inopportune time.
"They were at Los Machucos and Andorra, just at the worst point where the race split.
Chaves then had a big crash with Mezgek on the eve of the stage in Asturias. He had been targeting this stage since the race began. He hurt his back and suffered for several days until he recovered.
"I had high hopes for this race, but for some reason bad luck and crashes happened," Chaves told Cycling News at the beginning of the third week.
"I was talking to the guys and I was saying that in five years with this team I've only had a couple of punctures and I've never changed bikes. It happened in Andorra and then in Los Machucos."
Dean said.
Dean asked aloud why the team had such bad luck.
"Why is this happening to us, especially as the lead director of the organization in this race, you have to ask those questions. What is wrong, why aren't we in the same position we were last year?' It would be irresponsible of me in my position not to do that."
"We've had a lot of little things keep happening along the way. It's that kind of accumulation that keeps us playing catch-up. We really have to work hard to keep the morale up, to let the players know they have a chance and to keep them motivated. We have great talent and essentially we all have to support that talent. [Damien Howson and Tsgab Gourmay are in a runaway race of their own. Damien Howson and Tugab Gurumayi are in a race of their own to get away with it. In times like these, it's important to keep a sense of humor. We have good friends here."
As for Chaves, Dean said he lost a lot of ground in the crash with Medjeck and lost his chance to win the stage.
"But we know he is a fighter. There are opportunities for guys like Mikkel [Nieve] and Dion Smith.
Dean believes that at the start of this year's Vuelta, the team as a whole was in better shape than last year. However, the results were radically different.
"Esteban and the whole team have always been focused on the Vuelta. "But things worked out this way, it's Lady Luck."
But regardless of their bad luck, the Australian team is doing everything they can to ensure success in the final section of the Vuelta. Here in Madrid, their determination may pay off.
"We are frustrated too. We've trained hard, in the rain, in the cold. But that's life. We have to do what we can and keep fighting. I hope one of us can still do something here."
.
Comments