At the start of the day, no one expected Australian rider Patrick Eddy (Picnic Post NL) to be standing on the podium in the jersey of a King of the Mountains leader at the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi, not even Patrick Eddy.
This was the day that was supposed to test the sprinters early, with three categorised climbs lined up in a row all within the first 66 kilometres of the race and, while some were quickly falling out the back, Eddy was out the front.
"I was just trying to make the climb a bit tougher, and ended up in the breakaway," the rider told Cyclingews after the stage.
The Australian had clipped away from the peloton on the first categorised climb, settling into a break with Daniel Whitehouse (St George), Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Unibet Rockets), and Jambaljamts Sainbayar (Burgos BH).
"I won the first points quite easily, and then I wasn't sure if I was gonna actually remain in the breakaway as I was thinking of dropping back, but I spoke to the DS, and he just said, 'Oh, we're here now. We may as well go over it," said Eddy.
With the Vuelta a España having been his last race, Eddy wasn't for a second worried that he might be one of the sprinters who struggled on the climbs, even if the pace set was hard, so he was happy to push things along and try to keep the breaks jumping to help the team's "real climbers" Oliver Peace and Matt Dinham, who is just returning to racing after two years away grappling with an injury, tarsal tunnel syndrome and then the recovery from surgery.
After earning three points with his top spot on the initial category 3 climb, Eddy then collected two by taking third on the category 2 ascent and ten on the final category 1 climb. That secured the climber's jersey, although it's a tight competition with Sainbayar also on 15 points, but even then, the possibility of more loomed.
"We also hoped to stay away until those bonus sprints, and maybe collect some points and some time, because I've come off the Vuelta quite fit. And, it's not such a steep climb in a few days, the big GC day," said Eddy, referring to the category 1 Fraser's Hill on stage 5. "So, yeah, potentially for a moment, I thought I could be in for the fight for the GC, but it didn't turn out that way. But that's okay."
It is an indicator that Eddy is clearly not going to let any opportunity pass after being called up to race at Le Tour de Langkawi while racing the final week of his first Grand Tour in Spain.
"I haven't had too many opportunities to sprint and go for my own result," said the rider who is usually working in the service of others. "That was super exciting for me and really important as I still don't have a contract for next year, so to be able to go and hunt for some stage results is a big deal, and hopefully I can keep the career going."
The KOM jersey won't distract from that sprint focus, although Eddy said he certainly would look for points if the opportunities arose, as the 22-year-old is intent on chasing a sprint victory, with tenth on the opening stage his best result so far.
"I feel really good. Obviously, I'm a bit fatigued coming off the Vuelta. It's been a quick turnaround, but I think the main thing at the moment is just figuring out these sprints here," Eddy told Cyclingnews before stage 3. "They're quite different to the ones we're used to in Europe, everyone leaves their lead-outs quite late, and often it's just one big, straight, wide road. So physically I'm in a good spot, so just need to get it right with the timing of the lead out."
Cracking the code at the eight-stage race is no easy task, with plenty of competition as XDS-Astana, Tudor Pro Cycling, and Uno-X Mobility have all brought a powerful sprint squad.
Even though Picnic-PostNL may be a WorldTour team, it makes it feel more like a David and Goliath battle, given Eddy's Picnic PostNL started with just five riders and is now down to four, with two of those stepping up from the development squad and Dinham back from his long racing hiatus. Though the motivation to deliver is certainly not lacking.
"I don't have a job for next year, so yeah, I'm here chasing some big results to just show myself to the cycling world," Eddy told the post-stage media conference.
"It's the end of the season, and I always say it's all between the ears. In October, it's all about who really wants it still at this point of the year. And we're full of motivation. We haven't gotten the result we want yet, but I'm sure it's coming."
