‘I’m like a kid in the peloton. It’s perfect’ – Jakob Omrzel battles on for youth classification without pressure as Vuelta a España finale looms

Close to the top of the Peñas Blancas climb, Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) tried to go clear from the GC group on Friday’s stage at the Vuelta a España. Even if it failed to work out and he ended up losing six seconds on the other overall contenders, that slight gap at the finish line didn’t seem to matter to him too much. And that’s maybe only logical.

“It’s my first Grand Tour, and I’m really enjoying it,” Omrzel told Eurosport as he donned a jacket at the Peñas Blancas summit and a soigneur gave him a whistle to warn spectators during the long descent back to the team bus. “I’m like a kid in the peloton. It’s perfect.”

Omrzel’s relaxed attitude is likely considerably helped by his spectacular mountaintop stage win at Calar Alto during the Vuelta’s second week, considerably exceeding everybody’s expectations.

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So while the 20-year-old is still impressing by being just 7:06 behind race leader Enric Mas (Movistar) on GC, and running sixth, in his ongoing duel with Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos) for the Best Young Rider’s lead, there’s no sense that he feels like he is racing under pressure.

“I was just enjoying this, it was this fast climb and I was feeling good,” Omrzel, just 1:03 behind Onley, explained to Eurosport.

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“Yesterday [in Thursday’s time trial] I went deep but only to a certain point and that was it, Then today on the climb, when the guys stopped a bit, I tried my luck.”

Omrzel’s assured actions with riders with considerably more experience means that he is, in theory, finding himself racing in scenarios where he could pay a high price for his lack of knowledge. But for now, he seems to be testing the limits of his current strengths without any sense of anything to lose.

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“I don’t know, it is my first Grand Tour,” he reminded his interviewer when asked how he’d seen the GC battle. “There was quite a bit of chaos, nobody knows who’s controlling what, Movistar were there with the red jersey, then Red Bull and Decathlon. A lot of teams were trying to control the race.”

As for his own battle with Onley, there’s only one more day in the mountains to go, and as Omrzel said, he will try for a last-minute assault on the white jersey again if the opportunity arises.

To judge by his upbeat answer, rather than automatically riding conservative, going for broke is certainly something he’s not ruling out.

“For sure, of course, if there’s a chance like today,” Omrzel answered when asked if he would attack again on Saturday’s mammoth stage through Granada.

“Otherwise I’ll just defend my position. But with my legs and my performance, I think something is possible.”

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