When Fabian Wegmann won the mountain jersey at the Giro: "I just screamed with joy on the bike"
Daniel Brickwedde
· 03.05.2024
Fabian Wegmann has notched up a few successes in his career. Perhaps the most memorable victory was also the most surprising: the mountain prize classification at the 2004 Giro d'Italia, because even Wegmann himself did not think it possible for a long time during the tour that he would actually become the mountain king of the Giro. At the time, the Münster native was competing in his first three-week national tour in Italy. He took the mountains jersey on stage 1, which led to an unexpected long-term story that made Wegmann one of the most influential riders of the 2004 Giro d'Italia.
The then 23-year-old Wegmann had no chance against the top climbers in the overall standings in the high mountains, he had to be a tireless attacker to get his mountain points - with a dramatic climax on the last two mountain stages. Wegmann travelled back in time with TOUR to the Giro 20 years ago.
TOUR: Mr Wegmann, where do the green mountain jersey and the mountain prize trophy from the 2004 Giro d'Italia have a special place in your home?
Fabian Wegmann: Uff, I'm not someone who has trophies like that in the living room. Most of them weren't so pretty that the family would say: Sure, they can stand in the living room (laughs). I'm also not someone who celebrates such things forever, I rather carry such successes in my heart. I don't need a display case for that. That's why the trophy is in my basement in my bike workshop, as is the framed jersey. I still have everything from that time and everything has its place, but I don't display the things in my home as prominently.
Fabian Wegmann took the mountain jersey on stage 1 of the Giro
TOUR: The 2004 Giro was also your Grand Tour debut. You certainly didn't go into the tour with the intention of winning: I'm going to be king of the mountains.
Fabian Wegmann: No, definitely not (laughs). I was just really happy to be riding a Grand Tour. That's the dream of every professional cyclist. I already had fond memories of Italy anyway, having won my first professional race there in 2003 (GP Citta di Rio Saliceto e Correggio, editor's note). I've always enjoyed riding in Italy - especially because of the fans, who are open to everyone, know every rider and cheer everyone on. Everything is always a bit more relaxed. My first goal for the Giro was to get through. I didn't go to the start and thought: I'm going to chase stages here now - I wasn't that self-confident back then. I just wanted to do a good race for the team. We had Olaf Pollack with us as a sprinter, as well as Sven Montgomery and Davide Rebellin. We had to support these riders as helpers.
TOUR: And yet you took the mountain jersey on the very first stage ...
Fabian Wegmann: That is correct. However, the sprint was primarily important for the stage. Olaf Pollack had previously ridden a good prologue and had a chance of winning the pink jersey. At some point the peloton was back together and we were at the front because we wanted to keep everything together. There was only one mountain classification that day, which wasn't particularly difficult (4th category, editor's note). An Italian GS2 team came to the front of the field on the climb, with two or three riders, I was in fourth position behind them - and when they started the sprint, I easily rode past. I was always good in the uphill sprint, I had the speed. And I knew: just one mountain classification, bang, then I've got the mountain jersey. It was an outstanding day because Olaf also took the pink jersey with second place in the sprint. That gave the whole team a huge boost.
TOUR: So it was more of a spontaneous, unplanned action with the first mountain jersey?
Fabian Wegmann: Absolutely. I can't remember us discussing this in the team in the morning. For a young rider, it is of course a huge feeling to stand on the podium at a Grand Tour. That was great.
TOUR: You lost the mountains jersey again after just one day. On the following stages, you kept picking up points and wore the mountains jersey again after stage 6. Was there a point in time when the mountain classification became a serious goal?
Fabian Wegmann: When I look back at everything, I honestly can't pinpoint an exact time. I was always close, so I always looked to see if I could get into the groups. My form was good and I was strong on the climbs, so I kept trying. And I had the freedom from the team to do so. In the beginning, Alexandre Moos was (former professional cyclist from Switzerland, editor's note) my main rival, but at some point he no longer played a role. Basically, only Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni were still around me in the mountain classification, i.e. classification riders. Then I knew: Ok, they certainly won't be racing for the mountains jersey. That was around the middle of the tour. But I never thought that I could really win it.
Italy has always been a good place for Fabian Wegmann
TOUR: Because it seemed utopian for a 23-year-old Grand Tour debutant at the time?
Fabian Wegmann: I was happy every time I was able to wear the mountain jersey for another day. For a long time, I wore it on behalf of Cunego. You're not allowed on the podium, but you're still first on the start line every morning and are mentioned everywhere. That gave me a lot of motivation. I had nothing to lose, every day in the jersey was a bonus for me. And nobody expected me to go through with it - not even my team. For a long time, I simply didn't think that I could win it - which in retrospect was perhaps an advantage. Because I also didn't think about how difficult such a tour is.
TOUR: With so many days in the mountain jersey, you were suddenly a name in a Grand Tour. What does it all throw at you?
Fabian Wegmann: For the Italians, the Giro is a huge thing. I was in every newspaper, everyone recognised me. It's still like that today: When I'm in Italy - not just at the races, but also on holiday - people recognise me (laughs). That's crazy. But it's generally because Italy has always been a good place for me (Wegmann won Tre Valli Varesine in 2004 and came third in the Tour of Lombardy in 2006, editor's note). I enjoyed the attention back then. It was just a relaxed atmosphere. You went to register, sat in the sun before the start and chatted. There were mobile phones, but they were very expensive back then (laughs). So you chatted before the start. It was a different time. I also had a very good and emphatic sports director in Christian Henn. Apart from the two sprinters Olaf Pollack and Robert Förster, I was the only one in the team who still had a goal. Montgomery had crashed and Rebellin was also out early. But there was never any pressure put on me to get a result.
The dominance of sprinter Alessandro Petacchi at the 2004 Giro also helped Wegmann
TOUR: How has your profile risen in the field?
Fabian Wegmann: They definitely went up. I remember that once Mariano Piccoli (former Italian professional cyclist, editor's note) He had won the mountain classification twice before at the Giro. He is a similar type of rider to me and told me that I was doing everything just right, that I simply had to always go into the groups - and if it didn't work out, then I had to take a day off completely. I'd manage it that way. That really motivated me. The longer I had the jersey, the more riders knew me and the more respect I got. I realised that.
TOUR: But how great was the inner pressure and tension of having to make it into the leading group almost every day? Because that was fundamentally important for you. You might have panicked about missing out on the decisive group.
Fabian Wegmann: I didn't actually feel any pressure. However, I was an emotional driver who could get really upset at times, but quickly calmed down again. That was perhaps an advantage throughout my entire career. Because drivers often get in their own way when something like that happens. But I was always able to put it behind me quickly and set myself new goals. In 2004, however, it was the Giro in which Alessandro Petacchi won nine stages. When the jumping around the breakaway group began at the start, he rode to the front after an hour, raised his arms and signalled: Basta - no more attacks here! Then it was over and the escape group stood. Today, something like that is unimaginable. His team was so dominant in this Giro and brought everything back together every time. In the end it didn't matter to me, I was only interested in the mountain points. But many other riders were resigned to that. That's why it was perhaps a little easier to get into the group. But I also always had an eye for which group was going, which riders were in it - and whether the group had a chance of being allowed to ride.
Wegmann had ticked off the mountain classification after stage 18
TOUR: On the penultimate mountain stage to the Passo di Gavia, you lost the mountain jersey again to Damiano Cunego - and the famous photo was taken in which you are in tears as you struggle up the climb. Had you already given up the jersey by then?
Fabian Wegmann: That day I was part of a relatively large leading group, maybe 20 men. I felt good and knew that if I took the mountain classification on the Gavia, I would have the jersey for sure (20 points were awarded at the Passo di Gavia, as it was the highest point of the tour (Cima Coppi), editor's note). That was my goal. That's why I went all in on this stage. At some point, however, the peloton really started to follow me. I just asked myself: Why? There was no dangerous rider from the overall standings at the front of the group. After I was caught up before the mountain classification, I took the photo of me crying on my bike - and I really cried. Not just from pain, but also from despair, because I had put everything into this day. That was it for the mountain jersey now, I thought.
TOUR: After the stage, Cunego was leading the mountains classification with 53:51 points. Did you actually talk to him about the mountain classification in between?
Fabian Wegmann: Every now and then. He didn't really care about the mountain classification, he didn't ride for it. He was all about the overall victory. But he was often at the front at the end of the stage.
TOUR: The last mountain stage led over the Mortirolo. Can you still remember how you approached the stage?
Fabian Wegmann: I didn't really have a chance any more. The jersey was more or less lost. The stage was extremely difficult and I knew that Cunego would somehow have to ride at the front to defend his pink jersey - he would certainly score a few more points.
Wegmann uses his last ounce of strength to score the decisive points on the Mortirolo
TOUR: But giving up was obviously not an option. They attacked again on the stage ...
Fabian Wegmann: The first kilometres of the stage led down into the valley to Mortirolo and everyone wanted to get back into the group. I was actually completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. I only did everything with motivation. In the last week we had blood tests, my haematocrit was 38 and I was completely devastated. But at the same time, I was so close. I had to give it my all again. However, I didn't get into the group at the beginning. Then there was another wave on a local road - it was basically my last chance. Robert Förster rode right through it with me on his rear wheel. That's how I got into the group, five kilometres before the start of the Mortirolo. But I would never have made it into the group if I hadn't had the jersey on.
TOUR: How did you fare on the climb? You were under pressure to score points.
Fabian Wegmann: On the climb it was more like death against misery (laughs). The mountain is so steep that you can't attack. I had never ridden the Mortirolo before and climbed it at my own pace. At some point I no longer knew how far it was to the top. That has stayed in my mind to this day: The Tifosi at the edge of the course, who kept shouting: only 500 metres to go! But it must have been over two kilometres (laughs). After every bend, I thought I was about to see a kilometre sign - but there was simply nothing. By the time I reached the last kilometre, I was in sixth place. It was my last chance to score points. But that's what I've always been good at: going low, going over the limit for a short time. So I pulled out my sprint and finished second. That gave me the lead in the mountain classification again for the time being. But after that I was completely exhausted, there was nothing left in my legs.
TOUR: But the stage wasn't over yet, there were still two mountains to go, including the Passo del Vivione, another 1st category mountain.
Fabian Wegmann: But I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything on that climb. I no longer had any ambitions to ride further ahead with the escape group. On the long descent, a group with Stefano Garzelli caught up with me from behind (later stage winner on the stage, editor's note)but without Cunego. On the flat, I cycled through once again. Because I thought: If the group gets over the next climb and Cunego doesn't score any points, then I'll still win the mountain classification. So I gave it everything I had until the next climb and then I went out. From then on I could only hope.
TOUR: Did you notice what happened at the front of the race afterwards?
Fabian Wegmann: At some point, Cunego passed me on the mountain. I thought that might be enough. But at some point you no longer have a feel for the race, you can't see or know what's happening at the front. I was constantly asking our sporting director whether Cunego had scored points or not. There was hardly any reception. At some point, however, the news came that Cunego had come away empty-handed in the mountain classification. At that moment, I just screamed with joy on the bike. It was an amazing moment, like a victory. I was riding in a small group of riders who all congratulated me (Wegmann won the mountain classification with 53:51 points ahead of Damiano Cunego, editor's note). Nevertheless, the moment was surreal. I continued up the pass and suddenly I saw my name on a huge concrete wall. Fabian Wegmann was also standing on the road. I thought: What is that?
TOUR: Enlighten us.
Fabian Wegmann: I turned the corner and there was my brother and six of my best mates. It was an indescribable moment. They ran alongside me and celebrated. I still get goosebumps today when I think about it. At the finish line, it was like a dream. You don't realise it all at that moment - partly because you're so exhausted. I briefly spoke to my brother to see him afterwards, but he said they had to go back home. Later, I got to the hotel and there they all were - and the party started immediately.
TOUR: When was the first quiet moment when you were able to realise your performance and success?
Fabian Wegmann: That was when my wife came to Milan (Final stage of the Giro 2004, editor's note) and we spent another week in Italy. On Monday we went straight to Milan Cathedral, but I could hardly manage to climb the stairs. I was knocked out standing up. I didn't do anything all week. We then travelled on to Lake Como, where I was able to relax a little and reflect on the past three weeks in peace. But I only really realised everything when I got back home. All the interview requests came in and I was asked about it everywhere.
TOUR: Where would you place winning the mountain classification in your record of success today?
Fabian Wegmann: It is always difficult to compare successes with each other. Every victory is beautiful and special in its own way. But I would put it right at the top because the Giro is simply one of the most important races in the world and I am the only German to have won this jersey in the 106-year history of the race.
