Oliver Naesen
« My legs were exceptional today. »
«My legs felt exceptional today, and I'm very happy with the result. I gave it my all to try and break away from the chasing pack, and inevitably I paid for it a little at the finish with cramps in the final sprint, which was the slight disappointment of the day. The team put in a great performance with Damien (Touzé) in the morning breakaway. I then joined him with the group of favourites and he did a great job for me. Dries (De Bondt) also positioned me well at the foot of the second Kwaremont climb. From that moment on, I felt like I was one of the best in the group of favourites, but Mathieu (Van der Poel) was already ahead. Throughout the race, I told myself that I would finish between second and fifth, but in the end I finished seventh... Not far off!»
Julien Jurdie
« You had to have a strong mind and superb legs. »
«Mission accomplished! Well done to all our riders who took part in the Tour of Flanders, a race contested in difficult weather conditions during the final stage. It took mental strength and superb legs, which Oliver had today. We made it into the top 10, which was our goal for the day, but we're still a little frustrated because we wanted more and Oliver had the legs to make it onto the podium today. With Damien (Touzé) also at the front, it's been a great day, just like our classics at the start of the season. We're successful, the momentum is good and the group is doing well.»
3
The figure
The number of top 10 finishes for the DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE team during the Flemish classics period. After Oliver's fourth place in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Dries' fifth place in À Travers la Flandre, today's seventh place adds to the team's impressive performances in Belgium.
