Tirreno-Adriatico stage six proved heavy, over the 210 kilometres it rained cats and dogs and forced riders to their limits.
Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s Paul Martens did not survive to the end and abandoned with 30 kilometres to go. “He didn’t feel good,” Sports Director Erik Dekker explained. “But it was indeed a heavy stage. It was freezing. The riders were already soaked when the race began. In the beginning of the stage, there was a long descent without many turns. To descend immediately in six degrees without pedalling was a big problem for a lot of riders, many were dropped then.”
Rick Flens handled the conditions well. “Fortunately, I’m a rider who is able to deal with this kind of circumstances,” Flens said. “But these aren’t the finest days for cyclist. I’m glad that I finished in the first group, in the end. The fact that I was strong enough to survive the last climb shows that I’m in a good shape. It was a pity that there was no team leader in my slipstream, though. To give everything that I have to help the leader is my specialty.”
With only a closing individual time trial to come, Tirreno-Adriatico is almost over. “I’m glad that we came through this race without any problems,” Dekker added. “In the end, this became a race without any historical value for our team. That doesn’t matter, it’s part of the job.”
12.05 - 21.05: Tour d'Algérie |
22.05: GP de la Ville d'Annaba |
20.05 - 24.05: Cycling Tour of Albania |
24.05: GP de la Ville d'Alger |
23.05 - 25.05: Tour of Estonia |
25.05: GP Herning |
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Tjarco CUPPENS 48 years | today |
Ramon Orlando Lopez ROGER 38 years | today |
Alexandra MILLARD 31 years | today |
Rik KAVSEK 39 years | today |
Francisco Cabello LUQUE 55 years | today |
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