LottoNL-Jumbo riders can’t award themselves after aggressive ride in Quebec
Wilco Keldeman and Robert Gesink weren’t able to convert their aggressiveness into a top result in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. Rigoberto Uran (Etixx – Quick Step) escaped in the final kilometre and won the race. Gesink placed 20th.
Wilco Kelderman escaped with Astana rider Jacob Fuglsang in the penultimate lap around the Canadian city. The two got a bit of space, but were caught by the peloton with five kilometres to go.
“It was our plan to break away with Wilco or Paul Martens in that part of the race,” sports director Jan Boven said after the finish. “That escape was a very good effort by Wilco. He anticipated Fuglsang’s acceleration.
"When they were caught, Jos van Emden did a great job to bring Sep Vanmarcke and Robert Gesink into a good position. Robert gave it a try in the last two kilometres, but didn’t get the gap, which Uran got afterwards. Sep waited for the sprint, but wasn’t good enough eventually to play a big role in it.”
Headwind
“I was feeling quite good today,” Kelderman said about his try. “I noticed that it was a good moment to break away just before we entered the final lap. We already agreed on the plan to escape with Paul or with me, and I did it. It was just the two of us, unfortunately. I knew immediately that we were not going to stay in front, because it was headwind on the long, straight part of the course. If we were with a bigger group of riders, we would have had a bigger chance.”
