"It’s hell on a bike" - Laurence Pithie on racing with Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen at Gent - Wevelgem

Laurence Pithie was 26th at Gent Wevelgem but that does not display the ride he put in. The Kiwi has continued to impress and for large kilometers rode with Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen. He recalls what were hellish kilometers at the head of the race.

“I think I played my cards right today,” Pithie said in words to Cyclingnews. “I worked when I had to with Mads and Van der Poel. I was able to follow Van der Poel when he went on the Plugstreets between the first and second Kemmel. I don’t think I’ve ever gone so deep in my life. That was a killer race."

Pithie followed the duo - and Jonathan Milan - in the crosswinds early in the race and then the first time up the Kemmelberg, and again when van der Poel attacked in the gravel sectors. It was only in t he latter passages of the Flandrien climb that he was dropped, having gone to the limit several times by that point. “I knew I had to gamble a little bit by sitting on and trying to save my legs in the final, because when those two go, they’re so hard to follow."

"I wasn’t working as much with them as I could have been, but that was a tactical decision. I found at Kuurne that I got dropped when I worked with Wout van Aert and the other guys, so I tried to play it a little bit differently today. I still got dropped, but I can be happy with how I rode.”

Exactly as it happened in Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, Pithie managed to follow the decisive attack of the race but then couldn't hang on as his group continued to force the pace in the climbs. Endurance is still an issue for the 21-year old in this case, but he has shown to have the legs to match the best in this kind of effort.

“I was trying to play it tactically and I gambled a little bit to try to make it over the Kemmel the last time. If I’d made it over with them, I would have started riding but in the end, I didn’t have the legs to follow,” Pithie admitted. “Still, I’m proud of how I rode today, being with the world champion and the ex-world champion. It’s good company and a good thing for the future.”

Pithie was then caught by the peloton and rode to 26th on the day, as in Kuurne (where he was 43rd) it's a result that does not truly show off his performance, which adds to the incredibly impressive season he's having so far. “It’s hell on a bike. My legs were completely blowing. I tried to stand up and almost went backwards."

"I was lucky to get over the top. I really pushed hard on the descent to try to make it back, but the gap was just too big. But it’s a massive performance. To be able to follow them for that long is a huge step forward again.”