Thomas Gloag, a British cyclist for Visma - Lease a Bike, celebrated a sensational victory in the third stage of the Czech Tour 2024! The twenty-two-year-old has not raced for a year after being hit by a car. He was in danger of having to end his career. For him, the biggest domestic stage race represents a comeback to top cycling. On Saturday, he celebrated the first triumph of his professional career during the queen stage with the iconic climb to Dlouhé stráně.
"I am indescribably happy. It's unbelievable. Just a sensation. I have to say a huge thank you to my family, my girlfriend and all my friends who have stood by me during the past twelve months when I fought for a comeback," Thomas Gloag said with happiness in an emotional interview after finishing the third stage of the Czech Tour 2024.
During the queen stage, the peloton didn't give the breakaways much space. It was clear that the brutal climb up the Dlouhé stráně was going to be the deciding factor. With ten kilometres to go, Thomas Gloag went out fearlessly. He pounded the pedals with all his might and created a solid gap to the group that included race leader Marc Hirschi of UAE Emirates formation.
At machine pace, Thomas Gloag stole mile after mile from the final climb. In the group of main favourites, Italian Diego Ulissi, Hirschi's teammate, dictated the pace for a long time. With two kilometres to go, a much thinned-out chasing group had the leading rider in sight. But Thomas Gloag managed to push the pace even harder. With extraordinary tempo at the end, he maintained a narrow lead, even though the twenty-five-year-old Norwegian Andreas Leknessund of the Uno-X Mobility team tried to catch him first. One more attempt to change the name of the stage winner followed, but even twenty-three-year-old American Kevin Vermaerke of the DSM-firmenich PostNL team failed.
Gloag last raced on July 29 last year during the famous San Sebastian classic. Then he was hit by a car during training. He was expected to make a comeback during this June's Tour of Switzerland. However, his recovery took longer, and so the extraordinary British cycling talent returned to the peloton for the Czech Tour 2024.
It's a test to see how he will fare against the elite after all the adversity. After all, the biggest domestic stage race includes eight World Teams-licensed formations. But Thomas Gloag showed that even a year's break and the threat of the end of his career did not break him. "Actually, I didn't think about winning at all. I didn't keep up with the best riders in Friday's stage, so I didn't dare think about winning until I was within sight of the finish line," admitted a genuinely impressed Thomas Gloag, who jumped fourteen places to eleventh in the overall standings.
Marc Hirschi remained at the top of the Czech Tour 2024 standings for the queen stage, with his attack in the last kilometre adding a few seconds to his biggest rivals. The 25-year-old Swiss enters the final fourth stage with a twenty-two second lead over teammate Ulissi, with Colombian Sergio Higuita of the Redl Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe formation third.
Foto: Jan Brychta, Lukáš Wagneter
