Some victories mean more than others, and Ethan Vernon’s win on stage 4 of Volta Ciclista a Catalunya on the home roads of NSN undeniably falls into this category.
Victory in Camprodón on Thursday was the British rider’s third stage win in the race – he previously claimed one for this team last year – and also moves him to 14 career victories, half of which have come in WorldTour events.
“It’s a super special race for me,” he says. “My first pro win here was here in 2022, and this is now my third win here, this time with NSN, and it’s the home race of our new sponsor, so I guess this one is just as special as the other two.”
It was a case of third time lucky for Vernon, having seen his chances on Tuesday’s second stage affected by an untimely puncture, and then narrowly missing out on Wednesday, finishing second behind in-form Frenchman Dorian Godon (IGD).
However, the sprinters were given one final and unexpected opportunity today, as strong winds resulted in a shortening of today’s stage, changing it from a mountain-top finish to one that suited the British rider and a determined NSN lead-out train perfectly.
“It hasn’t gone to plan for us in the first three days, and then we were gifted another opportunity last night,” says Vernon. “The boys really committed – I’m super happy with them today – and I think this means even more for everyone because it wasn’t meant to be a sprint originally.”
His first win in NSN colors – back in January’s Tour Down Under – also came on a stage shortened because of the conditions.
After George Bennett, Pier-André Côté, Brady Gilmore and Jake Stewart delivered Vernon into the perfect position with 300 meters remaining, Vernon finished the job in style, comfortably beating Godon.
He adds: “We studied this new finish a lot last night, and we made a new plan this morning to take it into the roundabout first. The roundabout was super close to the finish. Normally, you would start your sprint before the roundabout, but the first race was to get into the roundabout first. I think everybody stayed in the same position coming out of it.
“The whole day played into my chances as a sprinter. We wanted to control it for a sprint, and in the end, quite a small break went away. This made the day a bit slower than normal and we didn’t have to chase the break as hard. It made the day a lot slower, and it played into the hands of the fast men at the end. I’m happy I made the most of this opportunity.”
Sports Director Oscar Guerrero highlighted Vernon’s mentality ahead of today’s stage as a reason for this victory.
“Ethan put everything into today,” says Guerrero. “He knew that this was his day, and he was very, very good. He now sees that he is able to win many races, and that second place is not enough for him.
“Also, the team was super today. It was the first day that we arrived to the finish with the guys quite fresh because the breakaway was quite easy to control. Then they made the perfect lead-out, so I’m super happy with the team. We went for the victory today and they made it happen.”
Andrés Iniesta, NSN co-founder, sent Vernon and the team at the race a congratulatory message following today’s victory.
He says: “It was really special to win a stage of the Volta a Catalunya, so close to home. Congratulations to Ethan and the team. What a great start to the season – let’s go for more!”