"He was too far away to put pressure" - Michael Vanthourenhout unable to capitalise on late Wout van Aert crash and snatch victory in Benidorm

Just a day after taking victory in Zonnebeke, Michael Vanthourenhout was once again in the fight for victory as the UCI World Cup rolled into Benidorm on Sunday.

"A very good day, which I did not expect after yesterday," the European Champion reflected in his post-race interview, having finished a close second behind Wout van Aert after a thrilling finale. "I had to get up at 4am, but my legs were good. Maybe I should get up at 4am every week."

With the race coming down to Vanthourenhout and van Aert on the final lap, it was the Team Visma | Lease a Bike star who initially powered clear and despite a late crash for van Aert, Vanthourenhout was unable to capitalise by snatching victory.

"I thought I was going to come second, but then I saw that Van Aert fell after the beams. I still believed in it, but unfortunately, it was too short to the finish," he reflects. "I actually planned to go all the way to the top of that last climb and then make my move on the beams, but he was too far away to put pressure."