Lennert Van Eetvelt is confident ahead od his grand tour debut: "This is not my first big race against all these big names"

Lennert Van Eetvelt will make his Grand Tour debut on Saturday. The 22-year old Belgian had a season with many ups and downs but now he's ready to take on the Spanish race. While GC seems like an unrealistic goal, a stage success is achievable goal that will draw Van Eetvelt's attention.

"This is not my first big race," he says just before the Gran Salida. "I've already raced against all these big names. The level will be a bit higher than the previous races, but the expectations are also a little less. It's more about looking: what can I do? What is three weeks of racing?"

"I still feel too small to go for a classification, but there are many stages with a nice finish that should suit me. Something might be possible from an early breakaway."

For Van Eetvelt, 2023 has already been a rollercoaster. He was parked for a while due to a doping test, but he was eventually laundered. "At first I was outraged by what had happened. That gradually turned into anger. I wanted to get an apology, something like that. But luckily it was over pretty quickly. And then I thought: 'It's over, it's been good'. It only gave me more desire to race."