Sep Vanmarcke on shattered spring campaign: "I have to accept it, move on and set new goals"

It has been a spring to forget for Sep Vanmarcke. A series of bad luck incidents, as is traditional to the Belgian classics specialist, has completely ruled him out of contention for the race he was targeting the most this campaign.

"As a rider who loves the classics, that sucks. A spring to quickly forget. I had to process a few viruses and bacteria in quick succession and my body could not handle that," Vanmarcke shared on Instagram.

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After missing on the opening weekend due to Covid-19, he didn't manage to recover his form until the Tour des Flandres, where he was not allowed to start as illnesses prevented Israel - Premier Tech from having enough riders to take to the start. His last opportunity came as Paris-Roubaix, but he fell ill once again and couldn't take to the start.

He concluded, on his social media post: “Thank you so much to the people who continue to support me. I really really appreciate it! To the people who react firmly: I understand your reaction. I myself always hope for even more, even better. I can only say that I have done my very best throughout my career, with or without setbacks. This spring it was clearly disappointing. I have to accept it, move on and set new goals.”

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