Renewi Tour

Yves Lampaert took his best result ever in a World Tour stage race after the Renewi Tour came to a conclusion Sunday afternoon in Bilzen. By doing so, the 32-year-old from Hulste became the fifth different rider in the history of our team to finish on the overall podium of the competition, just one week from a strong outing at the BEMER Cyclassics, where only 75 meters separated him from the win.

It was a complicated final day of racing in Belgium, with many hills spread out over the 187.3km course and a finishing circuit that the riders deemed too dangerous, and as a result stopped the race with more than 80 kilometers to go to protest about this. After holding talks with the organisers, it was decided that the time would be taken at the foot of the Keiberg, with five kilometers remaining, and that there would be no bonus seconds at the Green Kilometer and on the finish line.

This didn’t stop the Soudal Quick-Step boys from showing their offensive intentions on the last climb, both Yves and Florian Sénéchal trying to get a gap. The group that emerged from the peloton following these accelerations reacted, but the Frenchman made another move, which despite his best efforts was reeled in. The stage came down to a small sprint, won by Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), while the general classification was sealed by Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates).

“I’m happy with my third spot on the standings. After a difficult Tour de France, this result gives me a lot of confidence, especially on such a hard race, with many top riders. It was correct to neutralise the final kilometers of today’s stage, because it was very narrow there. This made things safer for us in the end”, explained Yves. “Our team did its best and we can be content with the week we had here.”

Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images