Look at the picture above. For several years, Rasmus Tiller has shown that he has a very high top level. He thought that for a long time would lead to victory in the French cult classic Tro-Bro Léon earlier this year. Instead, he was fifth in the sprint among seven riders, the 26-year-old’s third fifth place in the race so far in his career. Near the finish line, he trembled with irritation and disappointment and hammered the front wheel into the asphalt twice. – I was so disappointed and angry there that I almost couldn’t go back to the bus, says Tiller to news. TOUR DEBUTANT: Rasmus Tiller rides his first Tour de France in his career. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB Fekk Kristoff-råd The reason was that he himself was completely locked in the sprint and had to stop twice in a short time. Only with less than 50 meters to go did he get a free course and then the chance of victory was spoiled. Tiller has for many years been known for being terribly strong, but this has rarely led to major victories. Before this year’s Tour de France, he had two NM golds and two victories in the Belgian one-day race Dwars door called Hageland at professional level. After finishing the French race, he quickly sought advice from teammate Alexander Kristoff, who has 88 professional victories in his career. Tiller thought he was in the perfect position, in third position, on the wheel of Giacomo Nizzolo and Arnaud De Lie, who were still number one and two. – We talked through it right afterwards, that a scenario like that, where we are five to six (seven) men, he said that it is often wise to lie at the back. Then you have more of an overview of when people open the sprint, instead of lying in the middle of the group. Then you have no control over what those behind are doing, and if they open before you, you will arrive too late and can quickly be blocked, says Tiller. Focus on learning Tiller was also disappointed and angry after the first stage of the Tour of Norway at the end of May. This time, too, after being locked in the sprint, after Bora-Hansgrohe’s puller went out on the opposite side of what Tiller and the Uno-X team had talked about beforehand. The result was a 21st place, in a sprint where the Norwegian again believed in victory. – It is a junior error. I don’t know what to say, I’m just so madly disappointed. My God, he said to TV 2 shortly after the finish line. With a slightly lower heart rate a few weeks later, Tiller says that he is trying to take advantage of the mistake he has made. – It has been very important for me not to just forget it and not think about it anymore, but actually use it as learning. The next time I find myself in similar situations, I know what to do. When you start to crack that code, I think the results will also start to come. – What I think is at least good for me is to make those mistakes in those races, rather than making that mistake in the Tour. Now I’ve learned how not to do it, call it a little less fun. The tour is the biggest thing we drive. Being able to do it right there, it would have tasted better if I had won Tro-Bro. I just have to try to look at it that way. CLASSIC SPECIALIST: Tiller has his best results in Belgian and French one-day races. Here in action on the road through the Arenberg forest during Paris-Roubaix this year, with Alexander Kristoff and Søren Wærenskjold close behind. Half-satisfied after first Tour chance For that reason, the victory in Hageland in June was also disappointing for the Ringebu cyclist. – I have felt very good in training and done some good rides, but have been missing the last bit at the end. Actually primarily positioning. I have felt that the physique and form have been good enough to win races, so it was wonderful to get that victory in Hageland and to know that you can win too, in a way. In the Tour de France, he has primarily done work for, among others, Alexander Kristoff and Tobias Halland Johannessen. At the same time, he got the chance to drive for his own chances on the eighth stage, where he finished eighth in a sprint from a reduced main field. After the finish line, Tiller was again self-critical. – I may have fainted a bit, with one and a half kilometers to go. I may have to dare to lie on the wheel a little more before I open the sprint, he told news, and added that he would again take it as a learning experience. – We see that Tiller is the fastest in the last 500 metres, but has the wrong position. If we manage to clock in everything we want, then it is possible. I am not saying that we will get there, but that it is possible, said sports director Stig Kristiansen the next day. – Probably overthinking a bit Although Tiller has a very toxic sprint and relies completely on it from smaller groups, he is not particularly fond of the battle for position in the larger mass sprints. He got a taste of what a mass sprint can entail as a second-year senior in the Arctic Race of Norway in 2016. On the first stage he was number eight, but just over the finish line he was sent straight into the fence. The Astana rider Ruslan Tleubayev ended up in a squeeze and even ended up driving straight into Tiller. – I’m not super happy with the mass sprints, but it’s not because of the overturn there that it’s been like this. It has been more that I am not so comfortable in those situations, says Tiller about the mass sprints. TOUGH ENCOUNTER WITH THE ASPHALT: Rasmus Tiller after the opening stage of the Arctic Race in 2016. Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt / NTB For the Norwegian, a break is probably the most realistic possibility of victory in the Tour, where stages 18 and 19 on Thursday and Friday stand out as good possibilities. Sports director Gino Van Oudenhove has followed Tiller closely in Joker, Team Dimension Data/NTT Pro Cycling and Uno-X. During the Tour of Norway, he told news that they are “constantly” working with Tiller and how he will solve the finals. – The most important thing is that the riders develop a kind of intuition where things go right. Rasmus probably overthinks a bit and is very influenced by what is happening around him, Van Oudenhove said at the time. – Winning races is not easy. You cannot order it. The others you sit with will win too. There are margins and this is what we are working with, to get those margins on our side
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– Now I’ve learned how not to do it – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
