Yauheni Hutarovich went into the Tour de Wallonie with the hope of winning a stage but after yesterday's stage, he seems to have missed his target. With hillier terrain coming up, the Belarusian sprinter will now put himself in the service of his leaders Lloyd Mondory and Julien Berard.
The first two stage of the Tour de Wallonie were expected to be the only one for pure sprinters in this year's Tour de Wallonie and so Yauheni Hutarovich put all his focus on the opening days of the five-day race. Having finished 6th in the first sprint, however, he had to settle for fourth in yesterday's stage.
Hutarovich now admits that it will be hard for him to take that elusive stage victory.
"My teammates did an excellent job," he told Directvelo. "They allowed me near the front of the peloton. I took the final turn in fourth or fifth position. I decided to take Jens Debusschere's wheel. But I was a bit boxed in towards the barriers. When I finally got out, there were only two hundred meters left.
"I finished fourth almost without sprinting. That is a disappointment for me. I came here to win a stage and I think the goal is missed. The real race starts tomorrow. I will put myself in service of my leaders Berard and Mondory."
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