Almost every rider that competed will have a story to tell about their experiences and an apocalyptic La Fleche Wallonne 2024. Even though, Santiago Buitrago finished 5th in the end, he very much struggled with the conditions.
“One of the toughest, coldest, days I have ever had on the bike,” recalled the 24 year-old Colombian in a post-race interview with Bahrain - Victorious' official website. “In the end, this was a Flèche fought out in the head. As a team we did really well – we were in good position when we needed to be, helping one another where we could. But it was so cold I even had issues putting my jacket on.”
Recalling the incident, sports director Roman Kreuziger admits there was concern from within the team car. "Although Santi was in the right place at the right time, he was so cold that he physically wasn’t able to put his jacket and gloves on, so he had to stop," he reflects. "Me, Enrico Poitschke [the other Sports Director ed.] and the mechanic from car 1 had to go out and put them on for him, which meant he dropped from the chasing bunch to group 3 and had to use precious energy getting back on.“
“My job now is to prepare the boys mentally for Sunday in case we have the same again. As a team we did good things today, and we just need to work on how to prepare for, and cope with, another day like this," Kreuziger concludes. "I know that Pello Bilbao, Santi and the boys are hungry for success on Sunday, and what happened today will just motivate them even more. It was by no means a perfect day, but we have got better in each of the Ardennes races so let’s hope we take another step up at Liège.”
🇧🇪 #FlecheWallonne After a day of sun, rain, hailstones, thunder, lightning, and even snowfall, @SantiagoBS26 came in 5th place on one of the most gruelling editions of @flechewallonne in its 88 year history What an effort, what a rider! Bravo Santi 🔗 bit.ly/3xQ6JGc
