Jasper Philipsen's blisteringly fast ride to the fifth Vuelta a España stage win and first leader's jersey of his career may have looked as if he'd left the opposition for dust, but as the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider said, "It's never as easy as it looks."
Philipsen knows what he's talking about, given the highs and lows he's been through this season. The Belgian began with a fine Opening Weekend win on home soil in the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, only for it to be followed by a dearth of victories throughout the Spring Classics. He clinched a notable stage triumph and leader's jersey on the opening day of the Tour de France, only for that career high point to almost immediately crash out of the race with a broken collarbone on stage 3.
But on Saturday in Novara, Philipsen was all smiles again, immediately hitting the heights the very first time he could after he was a surprise late addition to the Alpecin-Deceuninck line-up for the Vuelta.
In stark comparison, Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen, the other big favourite for Saturday, was well out of the running, finishing in 14th.
Fighting through the tougher times is something of a specialty for Philipsen, whose very first Grand Tour win was taken in the toughest-ever Vueltas of recent years, the pandemic-blasted 2020 edition, which was delayed until late autumn.
At the end of a 230-kilometre rain-soaked grind through the hills of Galicia in the third week, Philipsen also persisted in believing in his chances - and he was rewarded with a hard-earned victory.
"It was almost November, we were racing so late that year," Philipsen recalled after clinching his latest Vuelta triumph, "and it was a really long, hard stage. But the memory of how I won that day was a very good one, and that's what counts."
Fast forward four years, and Philipsen was raising his arms again in the Vuelta, albeit in much warmer conditions and a location on the other side of western Europe in Italy. As he explained, the pathway back from his Tour injury had been anything but straightforward this time round, too.
"It's a dream come true to be back here. After the Tour I was a bit down, my motivation was low, but then I got the opportunity to do the Vuelta.
"I didn't know if it was possible; time was not on my side. I had to come back really fast from my injuries to achieve this.
"But when you have a setback, you have to find new goals. This win was especially nice, because I knew that for the kind of sprinter I am, there was only one real chance in the Vuelta, and that was today."
In keeping with his rollercoaster season, Philipsen's results pre-Vuelta provided mixed messages. He was nowhere to be seen in the Tour of Denmark, his first race back, but fourth in the Cyclassics Hamburg was much more encouraging. And the lure of a completely flat opening stage like Novara in the Vuelta - his best chance of a win - proved irresistible.
"I knew if we could do our thing, then we could have a good chance of winning," Philipsen said, "but it always looks easier to win than it really is."
Philipsen admitted that, given his build-up, rather than rely on his own ability to get through to the right place to sprint by himself, he had no choice but to put his faith in his team to deliver him to the right position, and then take his chance. Fortunately, it all worked out perfectly.
"Today I really trusted the team, I had the ideal leadout from Jonas Rickaert and Edward Planckaert, and that was great.
"My confidence in myself, though, was not so great as I'd not had the ideal build-up, not so many races before, and the time frame for my recovery was not what I wanted, either.
"But the team did an amazing job, we all push each other to the maximum - and that's what happened today."
It is almost a given that Philipsen will lose the jersey on Sunday's summit finish in Limone Piemonte, and he has already ruled out going for a points jersey in the Vuelta a España to add to the one he took in the 2023 Tour de France.
But as he put it afterwards, with his limited preparation, the big goal was a stage win and with a leader's jersey to boot, whatever happens now, he will ride the rest of the Vuelta feeling doubly satisfied.
"I've had a lot of bad luck this year, but I'm also achieving some great victories," he said afterwards. "That makes the season feel a lot sweeter."
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