00:00Simon, yesterday it was hard for you to put words on your achievement,
00:07but today you have a time to realize that you have won the Giro d'Italia.
00:11Honestly, I think it's really still sinking in.
00:14What a huge, huge moment in my career, probably, yeah, the defining moment maybe.
00:19And yeah, just incredibly, incredibly proud of the whole team over three weeks.
00:25And now, of course, Olav just finished it off, so amazing, amazing, amazing three weeks.
00:31So are you saying that you kept focused because you also had a stage to win today?
00:36Yeah, I mean, actually, we didn't have much of a turnaround last night.
00:39I mean, already, you know, on the plane here to Rome, so it's been a quick turnaround
00:45and we kept the focus.
00:47We knew we had a good chance with Olav today and he's pulled off.
00:50And for yourself, what does it mean?
00:52Somehow you had the idea yesterday that your career could end now?
00:57I mean, I don't know.
01:00Yeah, it's really, for sure, it's the defining moment of my career.
01:04There's no doubt about that.
01:05Yeah, I've had some good successes, but I don't think anything comes close.
01:09So I will celebrate for sure and we'll see what's to come.
01:13Congratulations.
01:15Hi, Samion.
01:16Congrats.
01:16And just two questions.
01:18Did you ever dream as a child of winning the Giro d'Italia?
01:23And a question about the Siena stage, because you obtained a fifth position
01:30and how much was important for all the GC that position in a stage which was not for good on the paper?
01:40Yeah, I mean, even since I turned professional, I always dreamed of winning the best races.
01:49And, of course, the Grand Tours, you know, the pinnacle of our sport.
01:53And, yeah, I mean, I fell in love with the race, of course, in 2018.
01:59And I think you guys know already now that, yeah, I mean, I had my ups and downs here,
02:06but it's a race that kept calling my name.
02:09And, yeah, I finally managed to win the race.
02:13So I still can't believe it, but a dream come true.
02:16And, yeah, I think with the Siena stage, I think, yeah, I mean, it's not the stage that I really enjoy
02:25because I think, you know, we as riders, we take a, you know, we sacrifice a lot of time away from home.
02:33And, you know, you could have an untimely puncture at any moment and your race could be over.
02:39So I don't like that side of things.
02:43But, of course, it's really entertaining racing and, thankfully, the team positioned me really well
02:48into the first sector and from there I could manage myself quite well.
02:54So, in the end, it was a good day for me.
02:57Next question.
02:59Hi, Simon.
03:00Yesterday you spoke a lot about belief, both in yourself and from the team.
03:04Is that something that you've struggled with recently or in your career, both from yourself and externally?
03:09I mean, yeah, I think you always have, you know, a self-belief that you can pull something off or you can do something.
03:20Yeah, but I've just been, you know, slowly losing time, really, to Richie and Isaac.
03:27And, yeah, I was looking more and more, you know, further away, you know, to win the race was, you know,
03:36it wasn't going to be an easy task to win the race.
03:41But, like I said yesterday, I mean, the guys encouraged me just to try, you know, you never know.
03:46And, yeah, I also believed and that's why I tried.
03:51And, yeah, you saw yesterday that I managed to pull it off.
03:54So, really crazy day.
03:57Next question.
03:59Hi, congratulations.
04:00Two questions for me, too.
04:01The first one, this morning, in this magic day, you met the Pope.
04:05What kind of moment was it?
04:07And the second, you spent 11 years in the same team trying to win the Giro.
04:12Change of team and you won the Giro.
04:15What did change?
04:16Yeah, I mean, firstly, today, the start was really incredible.
04:22I, for some reason, I didn't realize we were going to stop and really to meet him.
04:27I thought we would just pass through.
04:28So, yeah, an unforgettable moment for me.
04:32I think for all the riders there as well, just to be there and, you know, have his blessings.
04:42Second question was again?
04:44Changing the team.
04:45Changing the team.
04:45Yeah, I mean, I think I just needed a change.
04:55And I wanted to come to a team that knew how to win the Grand Tours.
04:59They've done it successfully with different riders.
05:02And, I mean, it's looking like it paid off.
05:08Of course, I have no regrets with staying in Jayco for so long.
05:12I think I have some, you know, lifelong friends and some great memories there.
05:17You know, pretty much all my successes over the Giro right now have been there.
05:23So, to really pinpoint one difference, I would not be able to tell you because they're just very different teams.
05:30Next question.
05:31Next question.
05:33Simon, two questions in one about thoughts, the unconscious thoughts that we have in good moments in life.
05:38Did you ever have thoughts like about quitting, stopping doing this crazy job in your life, chasing Giro d'Italia?
05:49Yeah.
05:50And second question about the thoughts you had in the last 24 hours.
05:54What did you think that you've maybe, you've never thought before and that you will be a base for your future?
06:00Yeah, I mean, I think all of us, we always have doubts if we're doing the right thing or if we, you know, we are on the right path.
06:12I've also, you know, had a lot of setbacks, you know, not just here at the Giro, but a bit of our races as well, where I thought, yeah, maybe it's time to stop, you know, do something else.
06:23But I kept, uh, kept going and I, uh, found myself back here again.
06:29And like I said before, this, this year was my year.
06:32So really no, had no bad luck this year, you know, which is what I had in the past.
06:37And, um, yeah.
06:42Next question.
06:43Simon, congrats.
06:44We saw you in TOS yesterday.
06:46Can you, have you ever been in that kind of emotional state before for something in cycling or away from cycling?
06:53And how do you feel now?
06:54How would you express your emotions now?
06:56How do you feel?
06:58Um, no, I don't think so.
06:59I don't think so.
07:00It's really, um, yeah, I would normally consider myself quite, uh, you know, unemotional, let's say, and, um, quite focused.
07:10Um, but I, I just couldn't hold it back yesterday.
07:13Yeah, it really, um, yeah, it really got to me.
07:16And, um, yeah, not to keep repeating myself, but it's something that I've, I've really worked for and sacrificed for, for, for, uh, a long time.
07:26And, um, I just, I, yeah, I just couldn't believe that I had managed to pull it off.
07:31Um, and I, yeah, I just, just, it just come, come pouring out.
07:35So, um, still thinking again as well.
07:38So, uh, yeah, yeah, of course.
07:45I mean, uh, also today, I think we also just finished in such a great way with, uh, with the stage one as well.
07:50I think everyone's just, uh, sort of on cloud nine as well.
07:52So, you know, you really start to realize, you know, what we've sort of accomplished here.
07:56We had a great year, uh, and, um, yeah, we'll see what happens after this.
08:02Last two questions.
08:04Simon, congrats.
08:05Yes, uh, obviously yesterday you have been, uh, without any doubt, the strongest, but also the smartest, in your opinion,
08:12the smartness has been a key factor in your success or, or not really?
08:17Or it's been only a question of legs.
08:20Yeah, I don't know.
08:21I mean, I, I had an idea, uh, on this climb to, just, to get away.
08:26Um, I really wanted to be alone so that I could focus on my, my own effort.
08:30Um, because I knew I had strong legs and I knew I could, um, you know, once I was alone,
08:34and then I could really just, you know, concentrate on my, my own, um, performance.
08:40Um, I did feel like some of the other stages were, were, let's say, more tactical.
08:45And it came down to, you know, you had a, you know, a more explosive final, um, where I was sort of losing time.
08:52But I just knew, or felt that I, you know, had more to give on a, a longer sustained effort.
08:59Um, so yeah, I had the idea, but I just needed to, uh, to get away by myself and managed to do that.
09:06And to be honest, from there, it was, uh, quite simple in a way.
09:10Because every day we had the plan to send somebody up the road to, um, you know, to try and support me if I needed to, to come up, you know, if I attacked or something.
09:20And, um, yeah, worked as well.
09:24Final question for Simon.
09:27We saw, we saw you riding close to your brother.
09:30His team didn't win the Giro or lost the Giro.
09:33What did you talk about?
09:36Um, with my brother, we, yeah, we're very close, but actually we don't talk a lot about cycling most of the time.
09:42So, um, yeah, today's, uh, talk, actually, we were just talking, um, about riding through the, the Vatican City there, um, you know, just normal life in, in a way like, um, but I think their team, I mean, Isaac himself, um, he's such a young guy.
09:58I think he has, uh, really bright future, I mean, he's already world class.
10:03I think when I was 21, I was still just, uh, uh, you know, Neopro, I don't, maybe I was not even professional yet.
10:08So, I'm sure he will, uh, bounce back and he'll have, uh, a lot of, a lot more success in his future.
10:16Thank you, Simon, and congratulations.
10:17Thank you, Simon, and I'll see you next time.
10:47Thank you, Simon, and I'll see you next time.
11:17Thank you, Simon, and I'll see you next time.
Commentaires