Our team was prominent in the echelons on the first day of the AlUla Tour.
The sixth edition of the race got off to a spectacular start thanks to the presence of the crosswinds, which brought the opening stage to life in the last 50 kilometers. The peloton splintered on the exposed roads of Saudi Arabia, leaving a group of 18 men – including Laurenz Rex and Bert Van Lerberghe – with a small gap on the others.
Those at the front worked well together and increased their margin to more than half a minute, but once the groups behind formed a numerous bunch again, that buffer began to come down rapidly. Despite the chasers closing it down to just 12 seconds with ten kilometers to go, the leaders managed to hold them off and got to fight for victory on the AlUla Camel Cup Track.
Launched by Bert Van Lerberghe, Laurenz Rex finished just outside the podium this thrilling stage won by Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and sits fourth on the overall classification as the best placed Soudal Quick-Step rider.
I want to start off by thanking to the team for putting their trust in me and giving me this possibility to sprint.
“I would have loved to be on the podium, and I should be content with this, because I’m not a pure sprinter, and this result shows that I had a good winter. The team was important in Bert and myself making it into the first group, and once there, we just gave everything. We will continue to fight for more good results, and why not, a victory here”, said Laurenz, who is racing the AlUla Tour for the first time in his career.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
