Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) safely found his way through a hectic cobbled stage at the 2.Pro Tour de Wallonie on Wednesday to take the overall win and a breakthrough first professional victory he hopes will mark a career turning point.
The 23-year-old Australian, who started in the BikeExchange development programme in 2017, has stepped onto the podium a number of times in his career but he has never before taken to the top step.
However, a third place finish on stage 1 to Huy behind Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) and Alex Aranbru (Movistar) opened up the GC potential for Stannard and he then moved into the lead with his fourth place finish on stage 2. Still, the GC margins were tight right up to the wne, with three riders within eight seconds of Stannard before the fifth and final stage.
“I came here with the aim of winning but I never thought things would turn out like this,” Stannard said in a race media release.
It was no easy final stage to secure the victory, with seven cobbled sectors on the 215km to Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont plus crashes and mechanicals aplenty. There were 23 riders who did not make it through to the end of the day.
Stannard, on the other hand, not only made it through but also sprinted to second place behind Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), securing his second stage podium of the tour, the overall victory and the win in both the points and youth classification too.
“I am very happy that everything went well,” said Stannard, who made the switch from the BikeExchange WorldTour team to Alpecin-Deceuninck at the start of this season. “It was very stressful, we had to manage the risks in the cobbled sections. I don't think I've ever competed in such a stressful race in my entire career.”
After breaking through to the top step, there is hope that his run can continue on into the Vuelta a España – where Stannard finished in the top ten on three stages in 2020 – and beyond.
“I hope this victory will mark a turning point in my career,” said Stannard. “My next goal will be the Vuelta, where I would like to win a stage.”
