Paul Double is a rider with a lot of quality and an interesting history in the sport of cycling, and unlike most riders in the modern age, it seems is now beginning to reach the peak of his career at age 29. Today he won the queen stage of the Tour of Guangxi, his first World Tour triumph, and tomorrow he is set to conquer the overall classification too because of it.
This past December CyclingUpToDate was at the Team Jayco AlUla camp and in conversation with the Briton, it was clear there were high ambitions and hopes for his first World Tour season. At the same time, he hadn’t yet taken a pro win in all his years in the peloton, but with the switch to a more high-level environment, the evolution of Double is very notable.
“It feels like I’ve turned into a proper bike rider now. Probably now speaking to you guys. At the finish, we’re all so cooked that you just need to sit down. You can’t take it in up there, but now on the podium as well with this spectacular scenery, it’s super special,” Double said after his win at the Tour of Guangxi this morning in Nongla.
Double has won at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and then also won a stage and the overall classification at the Tour of Slovakia. He continues to carry great form and after showing good legs these past few days hunting for bonus seconds, today he showed his climbing legs at his very best.
He managed to attack in the early section of the climb together with Mikkel Honoré, but it wasn’t a lucky win, as the asphyxiating pace didn’t allow for anyone to properly put on a chase behind, and in the final ultra-steep kilometer, Double soared to a career-best victory.
“I think most years, apart from signing with Jayco this year and then a few years ago, there’s never really been security, especially in the Continental teams when I was trying to progress. I think only three out of the last seven, eight years I’ve been confident to continue, so it’s nice to be here now,” he admits.
“I said amongst the boys ‘we’re going to win today,’ but the reality is with the level of the field here, I probably didn’t expect it, so to pull it off is really special and this season has turned out to be super good for me”.
Double has taken 4 wins in his first year as a World Tour rider, so far, at age 29. @Sirotti
He also admits that there were little expectations that he would be able to reach this level early in the season after seriously struggling with form both during the spring and summer. “There was a lot of getting my head kicked in over the years – and there still is, you know. This year I had a real low period after the Giro. It turns out I was cooked, and Austria was really bad, but we just rebuilt steadily, and I’ve come back to a good level, so I’m really happy.”
“Probably now it’s the confidence. Before Slovakia, I knew I was a good bike rider, and I was kind of waiting for the win to come,” he added. “I think now it has, it’s given me that extra confidence and I’ve done it again here today, and having a strong team around me, the boys have been great all week.”