Fred Wright has said that his late attack on stage eight of the Tour de France was a little appetiser for what’s to come from him in the coming two weeks of racing.
As the punchy stage to Limoges - won by Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek - reached its conclusion, the Bahrain-Victorious rider was in the thick of the action as he battled at the front of the peloton looking to contest the uphill sprint to the line.
The Londoner eventually finished 13th.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly in Limoges, Wright explained that he was full of motivation and had plenty more to give at this year’s edition of the French Grand Tour.
“I think today was a bit of a taster and a bit of a warm up for hopefully what's to come in the next couple of weeks,” Wright said. “At the Tour you've got to go easy when you can and yeah, just hope for good legs.”
The British national champion explained that the finale was always going to be tricky and technical, particularly with the small climbs that the peloton faced.
“We knew with those little climbs, it was gonna be gonna be sketchy with lots of fast descents. On that last climb I put myself in a good position with Matej [Mohorič] and Phil [Bauhaus]. Then, yeah, I tried a little move and followed Victor Campenaerts [Lotto Dstny] but it was quite clear that even from the very start of the stage they wanted a bunch sprint.
“So yeah, it was maybe a bit of a waste of energy looking at that final, but I tried.”
With the first rest day of the race within touching distance, Wright explained that he was pleased with his performance and would look to carry the same form into the second and final week.
“I think it's fair to say that today I was feeling maybe my best,” he said. “I guess maybe that's just because other people are getting tired but no, I was feeling good today. So I'm really happy with that.”
“Tomorrow's probably a bit of a sleeper stage for me, I'll try and help one of the climbers into the break and then who knows, save the legs to the finish and then it's finally a rest day.
"I'm looking forward to it.”
