'It's pretty emotional' - Late bloomer Double celebrates first WorldTour GC success

Paul Double (Jayco AlUla) secured the overall victory at the Tour of Guangxi on Sunday, navigating a tense final stage in Nanning to claim his first WorldTour general classification triumph.

"Yeah, very happy and a bit emotional for sure at the finish line, the boys were so good today, and I was happy yesterday, but to finish the job today, it's pretty emotional," Double said to reporters after crossing the finish line in Nanning.

The 29-year-old British rider, who took control of the race by winning the uphill finish on stage 5, faced a nervous situation when his closest GC rival Victor Lafay (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) attacked on the final climb with less than 20km remaining, and built up enough of an advantage to be the provisional GC leader on the road.

Double admitted that nerves initially got the better of him as he tried to close in on the Frenchman on the climb by himself.

However, he eventually received crucial support from in-form teammate Alan Hatherly, who recently defended his mountain bike world title, and the South African helped chase down Lafay's threatening move. German powerhouse Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco AlUla) also contributed on the flat run-in to ensure Double's victory remained intact.

"When Lafay went on the last lap, I panicked. The boys told me not to, but, yeah, I was panicking," Double admitted. "I tried to pull it back on my own, was not doing a great job and then Alan [Hatherly] was there, super strong, and Jasha [Sütterlin] came back, but also the groups came back together."

The final WorldTour race of the season proved to be a showcase for riders named Paul, with Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) winning all five stages not claimed by Double, including Sunday's final sprint.

When asked about the curious coincidence, Double joked, "It does seem that way, hey? But, congrats to Paul Magnier because he's, well, super impressive."

The victory caps a successful first season in the WorldTour for Double, who also won a stage at Coppi e Bartali, plus a stage and the overall at Tour de Slovakia earlier this year. Despite these previous results, the victory in China came as a pleasant surprise.

"The form was good, but there's a lot of really good bike riders here, so, yeah, I think I said this yesterday, I wanted to do well but didn't expect this," said Double.

Double will now head into the off-season with plans to relocate from his current home. "I've been living in Andorra, but I'll be moving to San Marino," he explained.

As for what a WorldTour GC victory means for his future, Double remains grounded, as a late bloomer who took a less conventional path to cycling’s top tier. "I don't know. It's all new for me. I'm just super happy with it, and I'll speak to the people who know. I don't know cycling, so, yeah, we'll see,” said Double.