"The stage victory at the Tour de France is a great satisfaction after missing the Olympic medal by inches"

She missed out on a medal at the Olympics by a hair, but Blanka Vas won Thursday's stage at the women's Tour de France with a fantastic hair. The Hungarian cyclist said after the race: he suffered a lot after the incident in Paris, but he learned from it and the current victory is a great satisfaction for him.

"This stage victory is a great satisfaction after the bronze medal that I missed by centimeters at the Olympics. Now I knew I couldn't let Faulkner go. He was able to get ahead of me at the Olympics, I learned from that incident. I suffered a lot after the incident in Paris, now I knew I had a chance to win and whatever happened at the Olympics, the fourth place gave me confidence and I believed that if I had a good day, I could win," she said after winning the women's Tour de France stage on Thursday Blanka Vas.

As is well known, the competition continued on Thursday with a distance of 152.5 kilometers between Bastogne and Amnéville, during which five smaller categorized climbs and 1,820 meters of ascent awaited the cyclists. To Vas, who was tenth in the opening stage.

Six kilometers before the finish line, there was a big fall in a corner, about a dozen cyclists were sprawled on the asphalt, including Vollering, who continued cycling in pain with a minute and a half behind.

Among the rest of the field, which was torn apart due to the fall, were the recent Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner from the United States and Blanka Vas. Based on his experience in Paris, the Hungarian rider paid close attention to the American, he reacted perfectly to every start, and he was the fastest of the four who persisted to the end in the uphill finish.

Not long before, Blanka Vas missed the bronze medal by a hair at the Paris Olympics.

“I could cry right now. I don't know how many fourth places this is. I'm sorry," he said then in frustration.

The Hungarian classic won a stage at the Giro d'Italia last year, wore the red jersey for two days at the women's Vuelta this year and now has a stage victory at the Tour de France as well.

Source: hirado.hu

Cover image: The fourth-placed Vas Blanka at the finish line in the women's road cyclists field race of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris at the Trocadero Square on August 4, 2024. Photo: Zsolt Czeglédi / MTI