Vito Braet impresses at Figueira Champions Classic: "Second place behind Remco Evenepoel, doing better today was probably not possible"

Vito Braet has showed himself to the World Tour at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana and this Saturday once again at the Figueira Champions Classic. The Intermarché-Wanty rider has finished second to Remco Evenepoel, and has put himself out there on the podium of one of the most exciting early-season races.

"Rune Herregodts and I had our chance today and could count on a strong collective. Our teammates did half the work for us by always positioning ourselves at the foot of the climbs. After that it was up to us in the final to survive as best as possible," Braet told In de Leiderstrui following the race. In a gloomy and very windy day in the coast of Portugal, CyclingUpToDate got some impressions from the Belgian in the morning. Braet had shared that positioning would be absolutely key throughout the day, even early on as the wind blew and the rain showers were frequent and strong.

Ultimately, the Belgian was the only rider of Intermarché who passed through the three-lap hilly circuit still within a chance of a result. In the final kilometers, his group was able to connect with the first chasing group on the road, which opened up the fight for the podium. In a sprint, Braet was the fastest out of the 20 riders that made the dash for the line, beating Simone Velasco and Lars Boven. "The last straight line of the course was wide and straight, so in the preparation for the sprint for second place I chose, as usual, to wait a long time and ride to the front with one effort in the last hectometers. It gave me second place behind Remco Evenepoel, doing better today was probably not possible," he admits. 

Nevertheless, it is a career highlight for the 23-year old. "For the second time in less than one week I was able to earn the team's confidence with a podium finish, which I am very pleased with. I am looking forward with great enthusiasm to using my good condition in the Tour of the Algarve in Gerben Thijssen's sprint train next week," he concluded.