Matîs Louvel: "I put myself in the wheel of Van Der Poël”
Matîs Louvel took the 11th place of the Primus Classic, a race that partly took place on the Monts that will be part of the world championship next week.
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On the line
“I stayed in the warmth of the peloton for a part of the team, we rode in a good position on this race, in a grouped way within the peloton until the hardest part of the race that we will ride next week during the Espoirs World Road Championships (Editor’s note: for which Matîs is selected with the French team). It was quite a war at that moment, and we were not represented at the front. I went out on the counter, I tried to make the jump and another time to get back to the group in front but it didn’t work both times. I got up a bit, it came out as I had made two efforts before and I couldn’t follow. I finally came out a third time, alone, on the counter, I caught up with a rider of Intermarché-Wanty and together we made a little time of ten and we came back to the group in front. We arrived in 6th place. I take the wheel of Van Der Poël in the sprint with five hundred meters to go, but it was going very fast and I couldn’t overtake him. But it was still a good race. I am happy with my feeling, it is a good omen for the future”.
The debrief
“The Primus Classic is a real Belgian classic with a lot of hills. There were eighteen of them to climb, including the ones that will be part of the next world road race in Leuven in the final. The race was dominated by Deceunicnk Quick-Step. Matis was 11th, he arrived in the group of Van Der Poel and Alaphilippe. He went out on the counter several times, and is in great condition with one week to go before the U23 world championships. Lukasz crashed, Winner fell in the end, Amaury Capiot was also in good condition and finished in the second group of this very competitive race.