Even if he did not go far from victory, Lennert Van Eetvelt had a good day and made a great operation for the general classification this Thursday during the 2nd stage of the Romandie Tour. Taking advantage of a very unbridled race following the skimming of the peloton in the Chaumont bump by Soudal Quick-Step et Remco Evenepoelthe Belgian of the Lotto felt the blow and came out with four other runners in the final. But after having collaborated well to afford a little more than a minute of margin on the rest of the favorites, the agreement then logically deteriorated with the stake of the stage victory, and it is the Italian Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) which was the clearest by anticipating the expected sprint. Finally 4th on the line, “LVE” is 3rd of the general with almost 50 seconds ahead of his main rivals.
Video – The summary of the 1st stage of the Romandie Tour
“It was a game and I lost. We think of the ranking, but we also want to win the stage”
“Many runners have suffered from heat. Me too. I suffered a lot today“, reacted Lennert Van Eetvelt When coming back to his day. “”I expected a much more difficult race in the last ascent, but I think everyone had trouble. No one wanted to attack, except Remco Evenepoel. But it is a little cursed. Everyone knows that he is very strong on the dish, so nobody wants to follow him. I knew I had to be in a group in front of him, because if he was there, there would have been no cooperation. With a little luck, I managed to slip into this group, but in the final, it was a game and I lost. It’s always difficult. We think of the ranking, but we also want to win the stage. I expected that Alex Baudin jumps with me when Fortunato left. It would have been great, I would have had a chance. But yes, it was not the case and in the end, I finished fourth … I saved a lot of time in the ranking, so I’m also happy“, positated the Belgian as a conclusion.
