At the GP de Quebec, Arnaud De Lie and Lotto Dstny risk everything with Pogacar’s onslaught, but they fall short – “We came here to win”
The GP de Québec was highlighted by Tadej Pogacar’s attack, Michael Matthews’ win and equally as notable was Lotto Dstny’s response to Pogacar and immense power in the end. However, the Belgian team struggled in the final kilometer and couldn’t fight for the victory in the final sprint.
Julian Alaphilippe attacked in the penultimate ascent taking with him a small group. On the final ramp Tadej Pogacar picked it up and was directly matched by only Arnaud De Lie. Behind were Maxim van Gils and Jenno Berckmoes, both young Belgian talents developed in Lotto – like De Lie – who briefly paced until 1 kilometer to go when the group was caught. Responding to these accelerations burned all three riders and in the final sprint De Lie only had the legs to finish a modest 13th place.
“It definitely needs a few honest conversations and looking in the mirror” – Geraint Thomas honest about INEOS Grenadiers’ struggles but urges team to pull together
“We were with three in the front with Pogacar. Matthews came back and surprised us, he has a lot of experienced as he won twice here earlier,” De Lie said in words following the race. “I tried to find my speed again for the sprint but to still go for victory was impossible. It’s unfortunate we didn’t go to the end as we had a big advantage being with three, but in the end it’s promising for the future to be up there with three of us young guys on the highest level. The team showed it’s strength here. We did a strong race and my teammates positioned me well. My form is here, and we will try again on Sunday”.
Jenno Berckmoes, another of the team’s revelations this season, tells the story through his point of view in words to Het Laatste Nieuws: “We were trying to ride the perfect race. There were three of us in the top ten and when they went, all three of us were with them. Certainly nice, but what do we get from it? We came here to win. The team was a lot better than last year, but we are not on the podium, so that is a shame”.
Team DS Nikolas Maes supports the riders and their decision, stating that “nobody was disappointed. The team did perfectly until three kilometers from the finish, in the chaos that followed, perhaps not the best decisions were made, but in hindsight it’s easy to talk”.
