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[su_quote cite="OLIVER NAESEN"]
Oliver Naesen: “That’s why we ride bikes”
“It was a real race. That's why we ride bikes. That's what the classics are all about. Today, it was full throttle from start to finish, and that suits me fine. As I get older, I'm stronger when the race is long. I sprinted based on experience. There was a headwind and I came out at the last moment. I've been on the podium three Sundays in a row (editor's note: 2nd in the eighth stage of Paris-Nice, 2nd in Milan-San Remo, 3rd in
Gent-Wevelgem). That's a good sign for next week, with A Travers les Flandres on Wednesday and the Tour Flanders on Sunday."[/su_quote]
Key number
6
Oliver Naesen's third place in Gent-Wevelgem is his 6th podium in a UCI WorldTour one-day race. He has won the GP de Plouay twice (2016-2018), finished second in Milan-San Remo (2019) and third in the E3 GP Harelbeke (2017), Eschborn-Frankfurt (2017) and Gent-Wevelgem (2019).
NEWS
Tony Gallopin and Romain Bardet hit in a fall
Tony Gallopin and Romain Bardet were involved in a mass crash 40 km from the finish of stage 7 of Tour Catalonia and were forced to abandon the race.
"Tony Gallopin has suffered trauma to his left shoulder. He will undergo further tests at the beginning of the week. Romain Bardet has suffered trauma to his ribs with suspected fractures, which will require further tests," said Dr. Arthur Molique, Doctor AG2R La Mondiale.
"We were going downhill at 70 km/h. It happened very quickly. I found myself being dragged along the sidewalk and went over the handlebars. Given the violence of the fall, it could have been much worse," explains Tony Gallopin.
“The fall was violent because we were descending very quickly. My ribs are hurting, but it could have been worse. I'm now waiting for the results of further tests. It's not the ending we had hoped for to this big block of races in March,” added Romain Bardet.
"It was a big crash, in the same spot where Bernal fell last year. After Axel on Friday, it was Tony and tour . We were very scared. The consequences are less serious than we feared. We'll have to wait for further tests to be completely reassured," said sports director Stéphane Goubert.
Both riders to France at the end of the stage, as initially planned. Axel Domont, who fell during Friday's fifth stage, underwent further tests on Saturday evening at the Centre Médipole de Savoie in Challes-les-Eaux (Savoie), which diagnosed trauma to his right collarbone (without fracture) and a fracture of the pelvis at the level of the right hip. He will be out of action for at least six weeks.
