"I can't be unhappy with that" - Tiesj Benoot closes successful spring with 7th place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Tiesj Benoot won Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne and there he accomplished a big goal in the spring. e's had opportunities to lead Jumbo-Visma on some more occasions, the Ardennes classics being some of them. The Belgian rode 7th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"Fifth place was the best I could do with Pidcock, Healy, and Buitrago still ahead of us. It turned out to be seventh place; I can't be unhappy with that. It was my fourth time at Liège, but it had never been so tough", Benoot said in a post-race interview. He had already finished seventh at Flèche Wallone and started as an outsider for the final spring classic.

The Jumbo-Visma proved his leadership worthy, keeping up with some of the best throughout the many tough ascents of the Ardennes and being in contention for the podium. In the final kilometers he had the legs and sneaked off the chasing group to ride through the finish alone in seventh place.

"We coped well with Tosh and Sam retiring from the race. Michel, Gijs and Attila rode strongly. For a moment, I thought Jan [Tratnik] could get on the podium, but Evenepoel was too strong. I went very deep today, so I will now take some rest for a while. It has been a long spring." The Belgian is expected to soon begin preparation for the Tour de France where last year he supported Jonas Vingegaard for the overall win.