Mike Teunissen emotional after conquering the red jersey: ‘This does something to me’ | Vuelta

Mike Teunissen actually had the task of getting leader Primoz Roglic out of trouble, but surprisingly enough, he crossed the line in fourth. Tomorrow he can put on the red sweaterand the Dutchman is very grateful for that.

In the bus at Jumbo-Visma, the plan to get Teunissen in the red had already been discussed. “We weren’t sure what the rules were this morning, so we had discussed a lot of scenarios,” he told NOS. “But this is super special. Yesterday was beautiful, today was beautiful, but tomorrow will be beautiful. I am very grateful to the team, because this means something to me.”

The 29-year-old Teunissen has noticed in recent years that it can also be difficult in cycling. “And if you now get something tangible for the fact that you’re doing well, that’s super nice.”

Teunissen (on the right in the picture) sprints to stage victory © photo: Cor Vos

In the sprint it was his job to keep Roglic out of trouble, but if the opportunity was there he could participate for a nice classification. ,,We were surprised by all the other teams, which put us far away in the pack”, Teunissen explained. ,,I was just sitting there all the time to see where Roglic was, but in the last kilometer he said, ‘Go on.’”

Gesink grants Teunissen a day of ‘shining’

Robert Gesink had a fantastic day in the Tour of Spain, the Dutch cyclist said after the second stage at the NOS. The Jumbo-Visma rider rode the 175 kilometer ride from Den Bosch to Utrecht in the red leader’s jersey. ,,It was 150 kilometers with a smile and the last 25 kilometers with a grimace, but it was great to see those thick lines of spectators everywhere. It was fun for me, but also for the team.”

Gesink was also happy for his teammate Mike Teunissen, who finished fourth in the stage and took the red jersey from him. ,,He can shine for a day tomorrow. I can now fully focus on the big goal of our team and that is to help Primoz Roglic to the overall victory in this Vuelta. It was fantastic to ride in that red jersey in our own country.”

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