“I am at the start here with a much better feeling than previously expected” - Tiesj Benoot battles through injury and illness to start Opening Weekend

Having crashed heavily at the Volta ao Algarve ealier this month, Tiesj Benoot had been a doubt ahead of Opening Weekend. However, the Belgian rider is now set to ride the first Spring Classics of the year, as he looks to defend his victory at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne from last year.

Benoot is currently riding with a bruised sacrum and has therefore been largely unable to train on the cobbles, as he said in an interview with WielerFlits that “I think it was a good choice to get off in the Algarve, to give the body a few extra days to recover. As a result, I am at the start here with a much better feeling than previously expected”.

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider also battled through a COVID-19 infection earlier this year, which put him out of action for two weeks. On the period after his illness, Benoot said “after my corona infection, I trained really well for five to six weeks. I hope this is enough to compete in the finales this weekend”.

Benoot is set to play a key role for in the Spring Classics for his team alongside the likes of Wout van Aert, Dylan van Baarle and Christophe Laporte, but if this injury continues to linger, then it could put him out for a longer period of time. In his interview, Benoot stated “after the weekend I will go back to altitude training. If there turns out to be a difference this weekend, I still have three weeks to eliminate it”.