“A full supporter bus had come especially for this”: Louis Clincke bursts into tears after thankless fourth place in time trial

Tears rolled down his cheeks at the finish. Louis Clincke came in fourth, just missing out on the podium in the time trial in the C4 class. The 37-year-old from East Flanders came sixteen seconds short of a bronze medal after 28.3 km in and around Clichy-sous-Bois. Disappointment dripped from his face afterwards. “You do it all for a medal,” he sighed.

A chocolate medal, that is the ungrateful harvest of Louis Clincke after his time trial. “The feeling was good, but not great”, Clincke analysed his race afterwards. “During training I had the feeling that I was even better. I started strong. When I heard that I was fourth at the first intermediate point, I knew that I could hold on to that but that it would be difficult for the podium if the rest still had anything left. Maybe I should have pushed a bit harder on the hills, but I gave it my all.”

Clincke rode a consistent race, came fourth at all three intermediate points and finished in that position. “It’s a double whammy,” he said. “On the one hand, this is very sad, on the other hand, I’ve often finished further in time trials. I rode a good race and I’m happy with that. But it’s also a shame. It was such a magical day. A full supporter bus came here for me. It’s a shame that I just couldn’t put the icing on the cake with a medal.”

Disadvantage in road racing

On Friday, Clincke will ride the road race, in which his C4 class was merged with the C5 category. “That is of course a big disadvantage for me, because I have a greater disability than the C5s,” he explained. “But I do give myself a chance. I will not be able to join every breakaway. But it is not impossible for me to perform well there. I have an acceleration and can position myself tactically well.”