By Julien Pretot
ISSOIRE, France (Reuters) – Pello Bilbao wanted to ride the Tour de France in memory of his former team mate Gino Mader, who died following a crash in Switzerland last month, and on Tuesday he secured a poignant victory as he won the 10th stage in smart and gritty fashion.
The Spaniard was among the Bahrain Victorious riders who left the Tour de Suisse after Swiss Mader died on June 16 and he then took some time off with his family to recover.
“It’s been hard, when we left the race in Switzerland the sports directors and us were so affected,” the 33-year-old Bilbao said.
“We were offered psychological help, but for me the best was to go home and stay with my family, with my daughter Martina, she gave me some tranquillity because kids don’t understand these situations and it’s easier to forget all the difficult emotions that we were feeling.
“So I started to feel better on the bike and to believe I had good legs and that I needed to do my best for Gino.”
On Tuesday, Bilbao was in the right breakaway and timed his sprint to perfection to leapfrog German Georg Zimmermann and give Spain their first win on the Tour since 2018.
“There was also the possibility of us arriving in Paris without a stage win, we knew that, but we had come close with Phil Bauhaus in the sprints and with Matej (Mohoric) on Sunday,” said Bilbao.
“But when you have a special motivation it’s easier to achieve your goal. In the end it arrived. Anyway, if I was not going to win I also wanted to do ride in honour of Gino.”
Bilbao now lies fifth in the overall standings, having gained five spots and he can start thinking about a potential podium finish in Paris on his last year as a professional.
“I have a good condition. I hope tomorrow I can recover and try to be as competitive as possible in the upcoming stages,” he said.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
