Gall explains Decathlon's switch from caution to attack on Vuelta stage 7

Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) admitted he had expected to race more conservatively on stage 7 of the Vuelta a España, but the Austrian and his Decathlon CMA CGM teammates saw an opportunity to put pressure on their rivals, and they took it.

Gall finished 20th on the stage, six seconds behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) on the summit finish at Aramón Valdelinares, after his combative efforts. 

More importantly, he gained 10 seconds on Enric Mas (Movistar), 23 seconds on Oscar Onley (Netcompany-Ineos), Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and more than a minute on Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost).

The time gaps came after his Decathlon teammates, including Gregor Mühlberger and Matthew Riccitello, helped drive the pace in the GC group on the final climb.

This set a launchpad for Gall to attack in the closing kilometres, and only Pogačar and Mas were able to follow the Austrian. 

Gall admitted post-stage that the team hadn't initially anticipated racing so aggressively in the finale, and the decision was made on the road.

“It was during the race. We wanted to be a bit more conservative, but then it was a good day to try something,” Gall told media, including Domestique.

“When you have such strong teammates, you can actually do something. With Gregor [Mühlberger], he’s always there to support us, and he’s always motivated. He always pushes me to try something.”

Gall explained that he felt much better than the previous stage, where he looked to struggle initially on the final climb, the Puerto El Bartolo, before building into his effort. 

“I felt much better today, yes. I mean, yesterday was also, in the end, a good day, but just before the final I felt pretty bad,” he said.

“Anyway, that’s how it is in a Grand Tour sometimes. It’s nice to have such a strong team around me. The guys always push me to be aggressive, and I think that’s a pretty nice way to race.”

The Austrian also credited his teammates for being able to put such pressure on, even if the pace came at a cost to his legs.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s super nice. I’m suffering quite a bit on Gregor’s wheel, that’s for sure,” Gall said. “But it’s a pleasure to race with such a strong team, and it’s nice to have created some gaps today.”

Pogačar ultimately proved too strong for Gall, but the race leader's presence did not discourage the Austrian. Gall has already acknowledged previously that he is in a race for second, and he wasn’t focusing on Pogačar in the finale.

“Yeah, I mean, Tadej was just doing his pace, and I wasn’t really focusing on him,” he said. “It’s a race for the podium, so I mean, yeah, you take him out of the equation, I guess.”