Written by Xylon van Eyck• Oct 5, 2017• 16:03• Pro Cycling Story

Michael Valgren reveals two things that changed his cycling career

When looking at Michael Valgren’s results, the first thing you might notice is the lack of DNF’s. The Astana rider only has one race he failed to complete in 2017, crashing out of La Flèche Wallonne. Switching between a leader and helper’s role, there is little doubt he’s made an impact in his first year on the Kazakhstani team.

Valgren took responsibility on the cobbled classics as a leader for the first time in his career and finished 6th in E3 Harelbeke and 11th in Tour of Flanders. Other notable results include helping the team win the Criterium du Dauphine and acting as a key player in Fabio Aru’s Tour de France bid. The 25-year-old switched back to leading the team for the second half of the season and finished second in the Tour of Denmark and sixth in BinckBank Tour, encouraged that he could ride in the final with riders like Tom Dumoulin and Greg van Avermaet.

For Valgren, being consistent throughout the season isn’t something that merely happened. When de velo asked him about it, he revealed key lessons he’s learnt throughout his career.

Never Give Up

“When I was 13 years old, I was training with a friend’s father in my youth club. He was over 40 years old and this badass guy who always wore a bandana like Marco Pantani. He would do crazy stuff like eat his breakfast at midnight then wake up at 6 am and go ride until the sun went down. He is a legend. He was pacing me on this training ride. I had 10 kilometres left to get home but I had nothing left in the tank. I was almost crying. I wanted to call my mom to fetch me. He told me, “No, you always finish. It doesn’t matter if it’s training or racing, but you always finish. Even if you’re last in a race, make sure you finish because it will make you stronger.” That has been stuck in my mind since that day. I am not a quitter.”

Don’t be a yo-yo. Be Consistent

“Bjarne Riis taught me to be consistent. Being a professional bike rider is all about being consistent. That was the main reason I didn’t earn a contract with his team earlier in my career. He took me aside and told me to be consistent which comes from a good base in the winter time. If you’re consistent, your level is so much higher and it’s more fun because you can contribute much more in the race. I never want to just be on the start line as a number. I always want to make an impact. That comes from consistency. I always want to finish a race.”

Valgren expanded and shared a story about a day on the bike that required him to dig deep to finish.

“It was my first Tour de France, stage 13 finishing in Rodez. It was so bloody warm. We were sitting on the front riding for Peter Sagan. My heart rate was sky high. I tried to get water from the car but it couldn’t get to us. I was screaming on the radio, “I need water now.” I thought I was going to die. Like really. Then the next moment, Michael Rogers came to me and handed me his bottle even though he was suffering too but he saw I was in big trouble. All I wanted to do was pull off to the side of the road and lay down in the shade. But I pulled through. I don’t know how I did it but it took serious mental strength to get to the finish that day.”