Wallays' Vuelta a Espana breakaway win inspired by Voeckler

Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal) let out a guttural roar as he crossed the line to win stage 18 of the Vuelta a España, and he was still screaming his head off as he rounded the bend beyond the finish line and wheeled to a halt by his team bus. It was a visceral display of emotion and it turns out it was all inspired by the rider most famous for wearing his heart on his sleeve, Thomas Voeckler.

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.