"We tried to turn the page and be really inside the race": Luca Mozzato celebrates a hard-fought second place at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

The contrast between Saturday and Sunday could not have been sharper for Luca Mozzato and his team. After a bruising opening day of the Classics weekend marked by severe crashes, the squad bounced back brilliantly at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne. While young talent Matthew Brennan took the victory, Mozzato secured an impressive second place, with his teammate Matteo Trentin crossing the line right behind him in third.

Saturday’s racing left the squad dealing with physical injuries and mental frustration. Mozzato admitted that the atmosphere in the camp was quite heavy going into Sunday morning.

"Yeah, yesterday the team was a bit sad because we didn't just have a bad race; we also had some guys crash, and crash pretty hard," he explained. "Actually, the feeling in the team was not super high," Mozzato said in a post-race interview.

However, a morning meeting helped shift their mindset before the start of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. "Today in the bus, we said we'd try to turn the page and be really inside the race," he noted.

The strategy paid off perfectly for him and Trentin. "We tried our best, and even if it was super hard, we came back with a podium. So yeah, we can be happy and proud of it.

Despite the eventual bunch sprint, the race was anything but straightforward. Relentless attacks made it a punishing day in the saddle, and Mozzato had to dig deep just to stay in contention before the finale. "Actually, for me, the middle section and also the way back were pretty hard because I was never really in the very front part of the bunch, and I had to suffer a bit," he recalled.

Managing those difficult moments was the key to his success at the finish line. "But then I saved a bit of energy for the sprint, and in the end, I can be happy with this result," he added.

With his good form confirmed early in the spring, Mozzato is looking forward to the rest of the campaign.

"For all the guys like me, I think in the first part of the season, the big goal will always be the Classics, and for me, it will be the same," he said. "We try to take it day by day, and we try every day to have a big goal, and we'll try to achieve something good during the coming months."

The team will have to tackle those goals without Stefan Küng, who suffered a heavy crash on Saturday. When asked if this absence makes him the undisputed team leader, Mozzato quickly rejected the idea.

"No, actually, I will never be like the unique leader because we'll try to play with numbers when it's possible," he clarified. "But yeah, we will see day by day how the shape is and how the feelings are."

The loss of his teammate is still fresh, and Mozzato made sure to send his support. "Me personally, I'm pretty sad for Stefan, because we did a training camp together. I know he was super motivated to do well during the season, and it's really unlucky that he had to stop so early. But I wish him a really speedy recovery and all the best."