Christophe Laporte was diagnosed with a cytomegalovirus this year and the Frenchman ended up becoming one of the riders with the least amount of racing in the World Tour. The Frenchman only began his season in mid August, missing the entire spring classics campaign and Tour de France as he was originally planned to. However this Tuesday he got good news as for the first time since starting his season he was in contention for a victory, finishing yesterday’s Binche – Chimay – Binche in third place.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the podium. The last time was last season. I’ve had a difficult year, so I can be happy that I could compete for the win here,” Laporte shared with Sporza in a post-race interview. “Although there’s also a bit of disappointment when you come so close to victory. I struggled to find my footing and was a bit blocked in the final few kilometers. I can be happy with my feeling and the result. Although, of course, you’d rather win.”
Laporte is still racnig Paris-Tours this weekend where he is the reigning champion and also the new Tour of Holland, so there is hope that he may still obtain a victory before the end of the season. “This was a very fast race. It took almost eighty kilometers before a breakaway could even open a gap,” team DS Marteen Wynants said. “We managed to anticipate, because we sent Victor (Campenaerts, ed.) and Niklas (Behrens, ed.) into some breakaways.”
“At one point in the race, we decided to go all-out for the sprint. The team handled that well. Christophe picked a good wheel in the final stages, but briefly lost contact and therefore his momentum. Third place is a good result, but with a bit more luck, we might have achieved even more. All in all, we had a good day today.”
Nils Eekhoff surprises himselfAfter Jordi Meeus crossed the line, it was Team Picnic PostNL’s Nils Eekhoff who took the runner-up position. The Dutchman benefited from the fast racing all day that saw several sprinters struggle and not be part of the final sprint.
“It was a fast race that never really slowed down. Groups were constantly breaking away, and that made it a tough day. The guys did a really good job of controlling the race,” the Dutchman said in his team website. “Even on the local laps, they kept me well in front and out of trouble, so I didn’t have to waste too much energy.”
“I felt strong and was confident going into this finish. In the end, I started my sprint just a little too late to compete for the win, but I’m happy to be back on the podium after a long time.”