Deignan delighted with magnificent Vuelta finish

PHILIP DEIGNAN has ended Ireland’s long wait for a top 10 finish at a grand tour by finishing ninth overall in the Tour of Spain which ended with a 110km trek from Rivas to Madrid yesterday.

The Donegal rider, who celebrated his 26th birthday last week, equalled the same place finish registered by Stephen Roche at the Giro d’Italia back in 1993 courtesy of his stunning Stage 18 win on Thursday.

It’s been a gutsy three-weeks for the Cervelo Test Team rider and after the biggest win of his career on Thursday, he still had work to do to preserve his top 10 status with a tough mountain stage on Friday followed by a tough time-trial on Saturday.

However, showing excellent form and superb battling qualities, Deignan managed to retain his top 10 berth.

He said: “I thought beforehand that probably the best I could have achieved would have been a top 20 finish as I hadn’t done a good general classification before. I never would have dreamt this, especially the stage win. Before I have been able to get into breaks and get good placing, but when you are going flat out every day for general classification, it makes it even harder to get into the moves. It is a brilliant result and I am over the moon.”

He added: “My first season in 2005 was pretty good, I won a race. Since then I have had problems with knee injuries and glandular fever and things like that. I wasn’t sure if it was possible any more but now, with this win, it is a very important day for my self confidence and belief.”

The other Irish rider in the race, Dan Martin, riding his first grand Tour, finished a solid 53rd overall and both riders will join Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) for the Elite world championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland, next Sunday. Yesterday’s final stage was won by German André Greipel (Columbia-HTC) which meant Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) retained the yellow jersey for his first grand Tour victory. “I’ve shown I am a three-week rider,” he said.