For a team that basically exists as a rolling monument to early-2000s cycling nostalgia, XDS Astana is having an absolutely absurd week at Paris-Nice. Just a few days after Max Kanter miraculously navigated a chaotic sprint to take their first WorldTour win of the season, Harold Tejada decided to get in on the action.
The 28-year-old Colombian launched a perfectly timed attack near the summit of the final climb, bombing the descent into Apt to take a brilliant solo victory on Stage 6. It’s the biggest win of his professional career, and he pulled it off despite the universe actively trying to ruin his day. He’s definitely the best Harold in cycling.
The 25-Kilometer Panic
If you want to know what real panic looks like in the WorldTour, try having a mechanical issue just 25 kilometers from the finish line on a day featuring over 2,100 meters of elevation.
That is exactly what happened to Tejada. While teams like INEOS Grenadiers and Visma | Lease a Bike were busy grinding the peloton into dust at the front of the race, Tejada was stuck on the side of the road swapping out his bike. Normally, this is a death sentence for a stage-hunter. You wave goodbye to the TV cameras, slot into the gruppetto, and start thinking about dinner.
But Astana actually rallied. Tejada’s teammates dropped back, organized a desperate chase, and somehow managed to drag him all the way back to the reduced peloton right before the brutal slopes of the Côte de Saignon.
Vinokourov’s Masterplan
According to the post-race PR quotes, Astana team boss Alexandr Vinokourov literally told Tejada the night before to attack near the top of the final climb if he had the legs.
It sounds like standard management fluff, but Tejada actually executed the blueprint to perfection. As the remains of the day’s breakaway were finally suffocated by the peloton, Tejada immediately started surfing wheels to the front. When Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) tried and failed to launch a move over the summit, Tejada violently countered.
He opened up a gap and threw himself down the technical descent toward the finish. The chasing group, which contained virtually every major GC contender in the race, hesitated just long enough. Tejada held on to cross the line six seconds ahead of French national champion Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers) and Lewis Askey (NSN).
Fighting for Scraps in the Top 10
The stage win also vaults Tejada back up to 10th in the General Classification. Not that the GC battle actually matters at this point. Race leader Jonas Vingegaard safely navigated the chaos, cruising in with the chasers to comfortably retain his yellow jersey. Vingegaard’s lead is so hilariously massive that everyone else is effectively just racing for podium photos and UCI points.
But for Tejada and XDS Astana, who arrived at Paris-Nice hoping to fight for a high overall placement before getting obliterated in the crosswinds earlier this week, this is massive. They’ve salvaged their race, bagged two WorldTour stage wins, and proved there’s still plenty of life left in the pale blue train.
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