“I had to dig very deep to keep up in the Trouée d’Arenberg. At that point, I didn’t really feel like I was in top form in the race. In terms of positioning, yes, but not in terms of legs,” Stuyven said in a post-race interview. “I was a bit behind and had to push to keep up. Florian Vermeersch crashed in front of me, and luckily I wasn’t caught in his fall”.
“For a very long time, I felt like I would drop on every section, but I got through it and noticed that everyone was running out of steam”. It was an endurance-based race, as many are nowadays, where the riders were already at their limits very early on, and then had to sustain the gaps that had been created.
“When Wout attacked on Orchies, I exploded. After that, it was about survival. Mathieu van der Poel, who joined the group, was also running out of steam. Everyone did their best, and we managed to stay close”.
Podium the best possible result
The group’s close collaboration allowed them to stay away from the chasing groups whilst having the chance of fighting for victory, but up front Tadej Pogacar and Wout Van Aert didn’t slow down at any moment. “Christophe Laporte blocked perfectly. Hats off to him. That certainly played a part in why we couldn’t catch up. He didn’t do it in an annoying way, but correctly. That caused the chain to break”.
“I found the moment and was still afraid I would be overruled, but a podium is very nice,” he explained, having resisted the chasers and finished third on the day.
It is only the second time he finishes on the podium of a monument, but the 11th time he’s finished in the Top10. “I have often missed the podium in these Monuments. third versus fourth or fifth is a big difference. This is great for me personally and also nice for our team,” he concluded.