“It was a very tight battle" - Matteo Trentin secures first ever GC win at 2024 Tour de Wallonie

Matteo Trentin has done a lot in his nearly 14 year spell in the World Tour peloton. Before this Friday afternoon however, the experienced Italian had never managed to add a general classification triumph to his palmares. At the 2024 Tour de Wallonie however, that all changed.

Entering the final stage with a 6 seconds advantage over Israel - Premier Tech's Corbin Strong, Trentin's heart would have been in his mouth for a moment as he saw the New Zealander take 2nd place on the final stage behind Samuel Watson, picking up 6 bonus seconds in the process and levelling up with Trentin on time in the general classification. With overall victory going down to countback, Trentin was adjudged to have performed consistently better by daily placings and secured the overall victory.

“This is very nice,” Trentin said after the finish in Thuin, in quotes collected by the official website of his team, Tudor Pro Cycling Team. “It was a very tight battle toady, all the way to the line. The competition was tough and I am happy that I won it.”

“My teammates rode hard all day today,” the 34-year-old Italian continued. “Arthur Kluckers and Jacob Eriksson battled hard against the sixteen in the front. All the others, on the circuit, helped controlling the situation. The race went how we liked it. It was a very tight finish. This is my first GC victory, that’s fantastic.”

With Trentin also a somewhat controversial omission from the Italian lineup for the men's road race at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (Elia Viviani, Alberto Bettiol and Luca Mozzato selected instead ed.), the Tudor Pro Cycling Team star will now be able to rest up for a short while before returning to racing at the Tour of Denmark in mid August, before travelling back to Belgium for the Renewi Tour.