Team director Steven de Jongh's analysis of the team’s performance
Trek-Segafredo came into the 2021 Tour de France targeting stage wins, and after twice finishing second, once third, they finally hit the bullseye with Bauke Mollema on Stage 14.
It took a massive, concerted effort to achieve the result. The team rarely missed a chance to be in the breakaway, and every rider played in an escape group except for Mads Pedersen, who struggled through crashes. He also was the team’s protected legs for possible sprint endings.
We caught up with team director Steven de Jongh for his evaluation of the three weeks:
Steven de Jongh rides with the team a day before the start of the 2021 Tour de France.
I think it went really well, we came here to win stages, and we won a stage. And two times second behind very strong persons, Mahoric and Van Aert. We made a spreadsheet where we pointed stages out with the riders suited to go in the break there, and if we evaluate it now, it was almost spot on. I think it was a very successful Tour.
A big win!
I think we got the best out of it with Bauke’s stage win. We won a stage, and that is one of eight teams that won a stage, and all the other teams go home empty-handed. I think after last year finishing with three 2nd places, this year we really deserved that win. But if Bauke didn’t have a great day, we would have had the same again this year and would have gone home disappointed again, but instead, we go home very, very happy.”
Bauke never gave up and finally found victory in Stage 14.
Unfortunately, on the days where we got 2nd with Jasper and 2nd and 3rd with Kenny and Bauke, we may have gone home with three stage wins, but we ran into stronger people that day. But we go home with a win, and three times we won best team of the day, and this is also something that we can appreciate because if you look at the breakaways that went to the finish, we were always represented.
The French fighters. Julien Bernard and Kenny Elissonde played in numerous breakaways.
Toms Skujins going all-in. He was part of the Stage 16 breakaway.
I think from all the guys, Mads had a really difficult Tour because he crashed four times, and he was really hurt, but he kept on going. I think he had a really unfortunate first part of the season with a lot of crashes, and mentally it was really important that he finished the Tour. I think he will profit from this in the second part of the season.
Too many falls for Mads.
A hard Tour.
It was really a good fight by our team. Especially the stage on Friday (Stage 19) where the six-man breakaway was gone, and our guys attacked again around halfway through to get a better possibility to win, I think that showed the character of this team. They didn’t surrender for a bunch sprint and really wanted the breakaway to go to the finish and play from there. Credit to the whole team.
Second place for Jasper in Stage 7. A Tour win still eludes him, but it's a matter of time.
Edward Theuns gave everything in Stage 19.
Vincenzo Nibali gave one last big effort in the Stage 15 breakaway before leaving the Tour to prepare for the Olympics.
If Vincenzo didn’t haven’t to go home for the Olympic team, we would have finished today with eight riders, and there are not many teams that finished with eight in this Tour and in this shape. Compliments to the team and their efforts.
Until next year.
