"It was frustrating to always come fourth" - Milan Fretin finally breaks bad luck at an almost-home race

Milan Fretin became the lucky winner of Wednesday's Ronde van Limburg. However, things didn't always play into his hands with a flat tire in final parts of the race.

"I needed a bike change in the final because I had a flat tire at a bad time. Luckily I had Stan (Stanislaw Aniolkowski, ed.) with me who could drop off his bike. He wasn't feeling so well today. Otherwise he would have sprinted today too. I saved energy the whole race. I felt really strong and because it was my home race, I felt extra motivated," the Genk native says after the race.

For Fretin, the victory in the Ronde van Limburg was a welcome one. Although the Cofidis rider has already won twice this season, things have not gone so well since the GP de Criquielion. Fretin had a heavy fall there and since then the Belgian has been riding around with a minor shoulder injury. However he will not undergo surgery until after the season.

Fretin's results remained good after his crash, but he didn't win again until today. "Well, I always came fourth or fifth. That was frustrating, but I was really motivated to get on the podium today. Now I win, that's really great."