Simon Yates of Mitchelton-Scott wins Vuelta a Espana in historic victory for Australian team
GERRY Ryan’s “dare to dream” mantra has delivered another sporting triumph, with his Mitchelton-Scott cycling team becoming the first Australian-owned outfit to win a men’s Grand Tour.
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GERRY Ryan’s “dare to dream” mantra has delivered another sporting triumph, with his Mitchelton-Scott cycling team becoming the first Australian-owned outfit to win a men’s Grand Tour.
Ryan, the prominent Australian businessman who won the Melbourne Cup with Americain in 2010 and watched his Melbourne Storm won the NRL premiership last year, was on Sunday night celebrating in Madrid after Brit Simon Yates won the prestigious Vuelta a Espana.
Formed in 2012 as Orica-GreenEDGE, Mitchelton-Scott’s breakthrough win in one of the sport’s three Grand Tours — beside the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France — is its biggest triumph.
Ryan has poured tens of millions of dollars into the team and the sport.
“I’m on a high. It’s absolutely fantastic,” Ryan told the Herald Sun.
“To do something on the world scene, you’ve got teams with twice our budget and these riders have stayed with us because they’re committed.
“I relate it to the Melbourne Storm. Storm keeps bringing in young kids, developing them and blending them with the older stars, along with the (Craig) Bellamy factor.
“That culture — we’ve tried to emulate that and it’s working. That’s what I’m most proud of … everyone from the bus driver to the mechanics to the riders and to all the staff, it’s very special.”
Yates, 26, was overwhelmed with emotion by the win, which came four months after he had Italy’s Giro d’Italia cruelly ripped from his grasp with only two days remaining.
Courageously, he largely stuck to his attacking principles despite it ultimately proving his downfall to a shrewd Chris Froome at the Giro.
“I came back from real heartbreak from the Giro d’Italia and I am still in shock that I’ve managed to pull it off and it will take a while for it to sink in just what we’ve accomplished,” Yates said.
#LaVuelta18: "The month was actually really quiet. Usually there is more stress... things went as they should have gone. Of course, it’s easy to say when you have a leader like Simon, who is strong and makes everyone else feel confident."
— Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) September 16, 2018
RIDER REACTIONS: https://t.co/cEF5SGK7Js pic.twitter.com/p2Zn7F6p47
“I like to race on my instinct and I hope that I continue to do so and achieve more big results like today at the Vuelta a Espana.”
Ryan said Yates’ aggressive style had injected a freshness to the cycling scene.
“It’s not just about the fact we got here but how we got here,” Ryan said.
“The Giro proved that if you keep attacking and attacking, you can also get where you want to go instead of defending and defending.
“Our guys, among the peloton, have a lot of respect.”
After a second at the Giro d’Italia, third at the Vuelta a Espana and fourth at the Tour de France in recent times, this is the win Ryan hoped had broken the ice.
“I always say dare to dream. Surround yourself with people who have the same vision and I knew that one day we would win a Grand Tour,” he said.
“But to also have the No. 1 WorldTour male (Yates) and No. 1 WorldTour female (Annemiek van Vleuten) riders in the world at the same time is really special.”
Originally published as Simon Yates of Mitchelton-Scott wins Vuelta a Espana in historic victory for Australian team
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