Tour de Wallonie, stage 1 – Jonas Van Genechten «Of course I would have liked to have won» –

THE STATEMENT

By Jonas Van Genechten, after taking second in the first stage: “Of course I would have liked to have won. Winning the first stage also always means you get the leader’s jersey. It wasn’t quite enough, but 2nd place is not so bad, and I am happy with it. The stage was not too tough, and the team did a great job. I have good legs, and I will try again on the second stage for sure.”

THE ANALYSIS

Thierry Marichal, who is working as directeur sportif at the Tour de Wallonie along with Eddy Seigneur, gave his explanation. “Our intention was to work for Jonas Van Genechten or Matteo Pelucchi in the sprint. In the end, Jonas was behind Tom Boonen and finished second. That is certainly not a bad result. Pirmin Lang did a great job of leading the peloton, so that the breakaway group was never out of reach. We expect a sprint again on Sunday in spite of the short climb that will appear. And we intend to ride for the win again.”

THE MOOD

The great performance of the IAM Cycling team at the Tour de France did not go unnoticed in Belgium. “It’s very impressive what the whole team, and Jarlinson Pantano in particular, have done in the recent days. They were always represented at the front, and brought in some great results. Just fantastic,” Jonas Van Genechten said. Pirmin Lang was also greatly pleased with the performance of his teammates. “Of course we are following what is going on in France. And thanks to the strong performances by IAM Cycling there, we are enjoying some extra respect in the peloton even here in Belgium.”

Race Pictures – Tour de Wallonie