'I didn't know if I was going to get back on the top step': Daryl Impey on 'special' Tour de Suisse victory after breaking pelvis in 2021
South African takes first win in over two years, his first for Israel-Premier Tech


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
It has been a long year for Daryl Impey. The Israel-Premier Tech rider spent most of last year on the sidelines after he broke his pelvis and collarbone after a heavy crash at the Ruta del Sol in May 2021.
The final seven months of last year were spent mostly convalescing; he did three late-season Italian one-day races, but to no great effect. This season has seen the South African still feeling his way back, but now he finally is.
There have been 28 months since his last victory, at the South African time trial championships, and almost three years since his last WorldTour win, at the Tour de France in 2019. However, on Wednesday, Impey turned back the clock and stormed to victory on stage four of the Tour de Suisse.
”I’m ecstatic," he said immediately post-stage. "It was a tough day. The competition is so good these days with the young guys, and after everything that happened last year, I didn’t know if I was going to get back on top of the step.
"To finally pull off a victory after all of the hard times is special. I had great support from the team and from my family at home. I’m really happy to win.“
The 37-year-old revealed earlier this year that he had to learn how to walk again, that was how serious the accident at the Ruta del Sol last year was; he ended up spending eight weeks off the bike, so this is a remarkable comeback.
“I think that once I can get over the fear of racing in the peloton and forget about all the bad crashes and things like that, I’ll have a change of perspective and will start thinking about winning races," he told VeloNews earlier this year.
The change of perspective seems to have worked, at a crucial point for both Impey and his Israel-Premier Tech team. The win is just the sixth of the year, and the second at WorldTour level after Patrick Bevin's sprint win at the Tour de Romandie at the end of April.
Israel-Premier Tech are in dire need of UCI points in order to remain in the WorldTour, so the 60 points won on Wednesday will feel well-deserved. Not that Impey will be thinking of that, however. He will just be glad to be back at the pointy end of races, winning things again.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Adam is Cycling Weekly’s senior news and feature writer – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
-
Cycling keeps you fit but are you doing enough to stay healthy?
It’s possible to be very fit in one specific way, for example being fast on a bike, while being unhealthy in other ways
By Joe Laverick Published
-
Dr Hutch: Motor-doping isn't rife, there's no way cyclists would use it discreetly enough
Some fans think that motor-doping is rife, but Cycling Weekly's columnist Dr Hutch is having none of it
By Michael Hutchinson Published
-
Denmark's new GC hope and a sober Wout van Aert: Five things we learned from the Tour de Suisse
It was a dark week in Switzerland but seven stages of racing still happened
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tour de Suisse stage six neutralised in tribute to Gino Mäder
Peloton to ride final 20km of route in memory of Swiss rider
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Gino Mäder resuscitated after terrifying Tour de Suisse crash
The Swiss rider was found unresponsive and airlifted to hospital
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Felix Gall powers to first major career win and overall race lead on stage four of Tour de Suisse
Gall takes over the GC lead from Mattias Skjelmose with Remco Evenepoel in third
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Mattias Skjelmose drops Remco Evenepoel to take Tour de Suisse lead and stage three victory
22-year-old tops GC by 17 seconds ahead of world champion
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'It's not nice to lose in that way' - Tragic end for breakaway duo on stage six of the Giro d'Italia
Simon Clarke and Alessandro De Marchi had their dreams crushed with 200m to go in Napoli
By Adam Becket Published
-
Back to Africa: Chris Froome on going back to his roots, his future and cycling's new generation
He’s come full circle, but is there time for another loop? We talk to the four-time Tour champ about his and African cycling’s future
By Adam Becket Published
-
Where next for Mark Cavendish after B & B Hotels-KTM's collapse?
We look at where the ‘Manx Missile’ could find himself next after the collapse of B & B Hotels-KTM
By Tom Thewlis Published