“I did not anticipate it in any respect immediately,” Andrew ‘AJ’ August mentioned about recording his first skilled victory from a small breakaway group on stage 3 at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. It was simply his third racing day of the season, coming in with no wins in his 119 days of racing throughout his first two seasons with Ineos Grenadiers.
“It wasn’t how I imagined my first skilled win, however I might saved lots of power by not working full gasoline, however it was not my function to contribute. So I took benefit of being contemporary, sprinted from the again and crossed the road first.”
The plan, the 20-year-old mentioned in a post-race interview with organisers, was to take a seat on the entrance of the peloton and convey again any breakaway to assist GC teammate Ben Turner. The younger US rider adopted the wheel of Florian Vermeersch (UAE Staff Emirates-XRG) when he attacked with round 22km to go on an extended sweeping descent. Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility) and Jonathan Vervenne (Soudal-QuickStep) made it a breakaway of 4.
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August didn’t take any turns on the entrance however tagged on within the again till on the ultimate flat corners in San Vicente del Raspeig. It wasn’t till 200 metres to go that August launched the profitable acceleration across the trio, Holter in second and Vermeersch in third.
“First, it is simply the 2 of us, after which the three of us actually go all-in to remain forward. If somebody who’s been on my wheels the entire time wins, it stings a bit. However that is racing, proper?” Vermeersch informed Sporza.
“He was a little bit of a useless weight in our group. If we hadn’t had him with us, we’d have been a bit extra comfy. I perceive that is their [Ineos Grenadiers] tactic as a result of that they had a sprinter behind us, however it’s a disgrace.”
The orange kits had been seen swarming their Ineos teammate after the end in congratulations. Ineos posted on social media after the race that their rider “performed it cool within the break,” however “cool” wasn’t what Vermeersch considered the developments within the race.
“I made a transfer, a bit sad concerning the final result, however that is racing,” Vermeersch mentioned in a TV interview after the end. “Jonathan [Vervenne], he went from far, and I hoped he would go perhaps like 100 metres [later] as a result of it was the right leadout for me. However he stopped a bit too early, and I misplaced my momentum. I might already really feel [August] coming from behind.
“To be sincere, I did not have the most effective legs ultimately within the dash as a result of I felt I did lots of work within the entrance. However that is racing. I used to be up there. Now I have to be taught once more tips on how to end it off.”
Whereas August celebrated the victory, Turner completed within the chasing pack of 34 riders with the remainder of the Ineos squad, 4 seconds again of August and in sixth place.
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Driving for Scorching Tubes Improvement Biking throughout 2021-2023 highway seasons, he had notable stage race success within the US, and every season he added a special US nationwide championship, taking the lads’s junior ITT title in 2021, the 17-18 junior criterium title and cyclo-cross titles in 2022 after which the highway title in 2023. The event crew competed in Europe every summer time, and August impressed with a pair of second-place GC finishes at races in France and Spain in 2022, with summit stage wins and the GC title within the 2023 Ain Bugey Valromey Tour in 2023.
Nevertheless, it was at Koppenbergcross in 2022 the place August gained worldwide consideration. Driving for FinKraft Junior Biking in cyclo-cross, August turned the primary US male cyclo-cross athlete in any division to win on the iconic Koppenbergcross in Oudenaarde, Belgium.
Now in his third season on the WorldTour, he is coated a worst-to-first situation as a professional bicycle owner. In 2024, he was the youngest rider at Paris-Roubaix and missed the official time allotted for the Monument by one minute and 31 seconds. Nevertheless, he did full the trip, “getting your arms battered for 260k” he mentioned on the finish, and was pleased with that achievement.
The Volta Comunitat Valenciana is August’s first race of the 2026 calendar yr. The victory boosted Ineos to the highest of the crew standings. It additionally moved him to second general within the dash classification, 12 factors behind GC chief Biniam Girmay (NSN Biking Staff), which was not on his radar.
And never far behind on Friday’s stage in sixteenth place was fellow Scorching Tubes crew alumnus Magnus Sheffield, who’s three-and-a-half years older. Each had been raised in upstate New York and signed with Ineos as youngsters. And now each are WorldTour winners, Sheffield incomes his first win in Spain at Ruta del Sol in 2022, and turning into an Olympian two years later.
