Tim Wellens sets himself up for Renewi Tour win despite mechanical on queen stage: "I didn’t win but I think I can be happy"

Tim Wellens suffered from a small puncture in the end of today's stage at the Renewi Tour, but the UAE Team Emirates managed to save the day, and he jumped into the race lead with a second place on the day.

“I’m really happy to take the leaders jersey today. We came into this race aiming to win the GC and knew today would be a key day in that fight," Wellens has said in a post-race interview."I had a really good day on the bike, I felt really good. We had myself, Trentin and Hirschi as the ‘protected’ riders and we collaborated well."

Wellens attacked in the final ride up the Mur de Geraardsbergen. He rode solo for a few kilometers and took seconds in the golden kilometer. With Joshua Tarling far behind, Wellens who was second in the GC was in perfect position. He was part of a group of eight which rode out into victory at the end of the day, but it wasn't an easy task. "I was unlucky to have a flat tyre towards the end but also lucky that I didn’t lose too much tyre pressure so decided not to stop and change it."

That proved the right decision. The puncture was sealed and Wellens could continue his race relatively normally. With the company of Marc Hirschi in the front of the race, the race was safe for the Belgian, who rode to second and extended his lead on most of the competition. "In the end I came very close to take the victory. I didn’t win but I think I can be happy with my day," he concluded, with two days of racing left and 24 seconds of lead over Yves Lampaert.