🇧🇪 #RVV24 What a brutal day. We tried, but went down fighting. ⚔️ Read the comments of Tiesj, Matteo and Grischa in our report! ✍🏼⤵️
Tiesj Benoot rues late puncture at the Tour of Flanders: "Maybe otherwise I could have fought for a place on the podium"
CyclingSunday, 31 March 2024 at 18:30
With Wout van Aert absent, Team Visma | Lease a Bike were always going to be on the back foot at the Tour of Flanders. Despite bright showings from Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot, there was no Visma riders in the top 10.
"This was a very tough edition of the Tour of Flanders," Benoot commented to the official Team Visma | Lease a Bike website post-race. "The legs felt pretty good. Unfortunately, I had to deal with some mechanical bad luck. On the Oude Kwaremont I made a mistake which caused my rear derailleur to take a hit. I was able to change it a while later.
Heading towards the line, although Mathieu van der Poel was a clear leader, the rest of the podium was up for grabs. Sadly for Benoot, a bit of bad luck pulled him out of the fight. "In the finale I unfortunately had a flat tire. Maybe otherwise I could have fought for a place on the podium, but that's how it is," he laments. "It was a very hard day. We tried as a team, but unfortunately the competition proved too strong today."
"This was one of my toughest days ever on the bike," Jorgenson added. "I did everything I could to win the race. I knew I had to follow Van der Poel and gave it my all to be on his wheel. Unfortunately, I had to let him go. I went full to close the gap, but it just didn't work. Then it was all over for me. Van der Poel rode very smart and strong today. He is definitely the deserved winner. We fought as a team and did our best. I'm proud of that fighting spirit."
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- you was so exhausted, ok, then why to ride third-class races immediately after the Tour? do a mix of rest, relax and soft-medium training in your family environment and after the birth of your baby, a month of full, intense training for the world championship! prestigious and suitable race for you (even MAS did well). Sometimes I don't understand Jonas's calendar.
maria2024202423-11-2024 - it’s just a brutal sport, and if you don’t believe in yourself — especially when you’re young — then what’s the point. i get it. that said, the voice of ultra competitive Mads Pedersen after last year’s Roubaix does echo in one’s ears. “mathieu was LEAGUES better than the rest of us… Yeah, i’d like to BELIEVE i could win this race one day, but after what mathieu just did i think that might be difficult…” and that’s MADS PEDERSEN. still, what can pithie do BUT believe?OCexile23-11-2024
- it’s just a brutal sport, and if you don’t believe in yourself — especially when you’re young — then what’s the point. i get it. that said, the voice of ultra competitive Mads Pedersen after last year’s Roubaix does echo in one’s ears. “mathieu was LEAGUES better than the rest of us… Yeah, i’d like to BELIEVE i could win this race one day, but after what mathieu just did i think that might be difficult…” and that’s MADS PEDERSEN. still, what can pithie do BUT believe?OCexile23-11-2024
- Compete with MVDP!!! None of the major races he was even close to MVDPabstractengineer23-11-2024
- Aids?Front24223-11-2024
- Maybe he needs more cowbell?redfishingboat22-11-2024
- you are a heromaria2024202422-11-2024
- It happens all to often. My crashes over time have yielded a broken neck, broken back, broken left leg, crush pelvis, three broken collarbones, broken right arm and I've even lost a rib. Somehow I still train and do some races every year, mainly time trials these days.awp22-11-2024
- In Italy you have few days, no more than 10 days.maria2024202422-11-2024
- Thank you, I don't know it.maria2024202422-11-2024