Hugh Carthy 'very satisfied' with third at Vuelta a Espana as Primoz Roglic seals title
Hugh Carthy described his unexpected third place finish at the Vuelta a España as a “turning point” in his career as Chris Froome bade a tearful farewell to Ineos Grenadiers on the final day of the season in Madrid on Sunday.
Carthy, 26, ended up finishing 1min 15sec behind race winner Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), who exorcised the demons of his final-day collapse at the Tour de France by claiming the Vuelta title for the second successive year.
Carthy, who lost a few seconds on the run-in to Madrid after he drifted in at the back of the bunch, had never previously finished in the top 10 of a grand tour.
Stephen Park, performance director at British Cycling said the Lancastrian’s performance, along with Tao Geoghegan Hart’s victory in the Giro d’Italia a fortnight ago, reaffirmed his confidence "that the Great Britain Cycling Team have every chance of success on the road not just in Tokyo 2020 but in Olympic Games and World Championships to come.”
“I am very satisfied with how my Vuelta has gone,” said Carthy who rides for the American team EF Pro Cycling. “This is a turning point in my career. “I don’t want to slow down now, as there are still plenty of opportunities to come in the future. I can count on a great team, it is the perfect environment for a GC [general classification] rider.”
Froome, meanwhile, was clearly emotional on his final day in Ineos Grenadiers colours after 11 seasons with the British team in which he won seven grand tours.
The 35 year-old, who is joining Israel Start-up Nation next season, even picked up some silverware ahead of the 18th and final stage, which was won by Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe).
Froome was awarded a trophy to recognise his victory in the 2011 Vuelta. Froome finished second behind Juan José Cobo in that race but the Spaniard was last year found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation.
“Thank you to @lavuelta for giving me the opportunity to celebrate my 2011 win today,” Froome wrote on Twitter. “I first learnt about it while in ICU in June last year not knowing if I’d ever be able to compete again.”
