Garate soars to stunning victory on the mighty Ventoux

Rabobank’s Juan Manuel Garate has soared to victory on the Mont Ventoux in the hardest and most prestigious mountain stage of the 2009 Tour de France. The Spaniard clinched the win after forming part of a 16-man break throughout the day then attacking together with German Tony Martin at the foot of the ‘Giant of Provence’ climb. Watched by an estimated 600,000 spectators lining the route as the Tour tackled the Ventoux for just the fourteenth time in its history, the duo slowly but steadily pedalled up the 20 kilometre ascent. Then in an epic duel on the summit, Garate first dropped Martin, only for Martin to strike back and reach Garate again within sight of the finish. Finally the 33-year-old Rabobank rider blazed away from Martin again, both to conquer the Ventoux and simultaneously to seal his first ever Tour stage win. Garate recognised that his triumph on the hardest single climb in Europe was a victory that rounded off his long and distinguished career in a perfect way. “I’ve already had wins in the Tours of Spain and Italy, I’ve been Spanish national champion, and now I’ve won a stage in the biggest race of them all, the Tour de France. I couldn’t ask for more,” Garate said. “We’ve had a tough three weeks in Rabobank, with a lot of crashes, injured riders and bad luck.” “But this victory is proof that if you persist for long enough, you’ll eventually get your reward. That’s an essential part of Rabobank’s ethic as a team.” “Yesterday [Friday] for example, we missed an important breakaway, but we worked hard behind and we pulled that move back.” Garate said that tactics and good morale had played a huge part in the dramatic last manouvres on the summit of the Ventoux. “Succeeding yesterday really boosted our morale today, and so we reached this crucial stage on the Ventoux feeling really optimistic and hungry for a win.” “When it came to the last two kilometres it was a question of using the right strategy. I didn’t have a time reference on how close behind the favourites were so I decided to go for it.” “But 700 metres from the finish there was a really strong headwind and I could see Tony Martin was going to catch me.” “So I decided to stop, wait for him, get on his wheel and then attack him again.” Garate finished fourth in one Tour of Italy back in 2002, but he recognised that was his “absolute limit when it comes to fighting for the overall. Helping others is my usual role.” “However, I’ve always been good on climbs, too - I was King of the Mountains in the Tour of Italy one year. So winning on the Ventoux is the kind of highpoint in a career that every bike rider prays they will have.” “It’ll seem like a joke, but last night I dreamed of winning this stage. Now that dream’s come true, I can retire happy. I can’t ask for more!”