Lennert Van Eetvelt, age 23, and riding for Lotto Dstny, put in a strong performance at Il Lombardia on Sunday, finishing in seventh place. Despite being up against a dominant Tadej Pogacar, who claimed his fourth consecutive Il Lombardia victory, Van Eetvelt was one of the few riders who tried to chase the Slovenian, even if not for long.
Van Eetvelt was satisfied with his performance, considering the challenges he faced leading up to the race.
Speaking to CyclingPro, Van Eetvelt reflected on the race: “I am happy to have reached the finish line. As I said at the start today I was not in my best condition. At the beginning of the race I had a bit of nausea and some problems eating and consequently I ate little. After 3-4 hours of running, I was fine, but after 5-6 hours I felt the difficulties. I thought about keeping my pace on the climbs and then seeing what would happen, but when Tadej attacked I could only try to follow Remco, for myself but also for the people at home to show off.”
Although Van Eetvelt couldn’t hang on to Pogačar or Remco Evenepoel in the final stretches, he demonstrated great resilience throughout the race, securing a solid seventh-place finish.
Reflecting on his 2024 season, Van Eetvelt added: “I had a lot of ups and downs, but I'm happy that I was able to end my season with a good performance.”
Van Eetvelt’s strong finish at Il Lombardia marks a positive conclusion to what has been a season full of learning and growth for the young Belgian rider.
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