"He showed some good spirit no?" - Movistar Team delighted by Oier Lazkano's bright and attacking E3 Saxo Classic

Although Oier Lazkano eventually faded to finish 14th at the 2024 E3 Saxo Classic, the Spanish National Champion was one of the riders to ignite the race and really take the fight to Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.

"Why not? He showed some good spirit no?" asked a delighted Movistar Team sports director, Jürgen Roelandts in his review of Lazkano's performance on Friday, in conversation with Cycling News. "But in the end, he was a bit empty."

Roelandts himself has a fair bit of experience at the E3 Saxo Classic, finishing runner-up behind Fabian Cancellara back in 2011. With Lazkano looking bright on his return to racing after a short absence, there is reason to optimistic. "He was a bit sick after the opening weekend, he didn't do Paris-Nice so his last race was Kuurne," Roelandts says. "I think he had a pretty good race, we still have to talk with him but it's been almost three, four weeks since his last race and I think he did good, especially in a race as intense as the E3."

"I tried to anticipate a bit. You never know in these races, that's why they are so beautiful," Lazkano added himself. "I lacked a little condition at the end due to having been off the bike for a week. You can't be at 98% here. I have good feelings, we were ahead in the key points and I will stick with that. This is the goal of the season for me and now the idea is to do Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix."