ProTeam Sports Director Mario Aerts looks back on the Vuelta: “Not easy, but progress made”

That this Vuelta ended bitterly just before reaching Madrid is already well known. But the anticlimax of the finale does not erase the sweet memories of the 20 stages that came before. Lotto Cycling Team rode this Vuelta for the very last time in the unique jersey celebrating 40 years of the National Lottery in the peloton, and they made those colours shine. Already in stage 1 in Turin, Elia Viviani delivered a promising fourth place. The next day, Liam Slock stole the show, crowned with the combativity award. A surprising tenth place in the team time trial and seventh in stage seven for Eduardo Sepúlveda rounded out a fine opening week. “And actually there was also Elia’s second place in Zaragoza,” adds Aerts. “It’s a pity he was relegated, but that’s something we have to accept.”

This was anything but a straightforward Vuelta. As always, it was an edition for the true climbers, with only a handful of sprint opportunities and hardly any transition stages. “And then, in Madrid, we even had a sprint stage taken away from us. That was especially disappointing for Elia Viviani, who had been looking forward to that final stage for three weeks.”

“Of course we knew beforehand that it was going to be a tough Tour of Spain, with a very demanding route. Ideally suited for Lennert Van Eetvelt, but unfortunately we lost him after the Belgian Championship. Then you have to build a different team. A mix of experience- with Jasper De Buyst, Elia Viviani, Eduardo Sepúlveda and Arjen Livyns, who sadly had to leave in the first week due to illness- and debutants like Liam Slock, Lars Craps and Alec Segaert. Together with Jonas Gregaard also, we managed to put together a team that bonded really well. Even though they had only ridden together for the first time in the Tour of Poland.”

The good form of the riders and the fact that- apart from Livyns- everyone stayed healthy unfortunately did not translate into the results we had hoped for. “Craps, Slock and Segaert all made great progress, which they will certainly benefit from next year. We had counted on a few more top-five results, but that didn’t materialize. That’s a pity, because this was genuinely a strong team; everyone rode well, and no one really got into trouble.”

Picture: Harry Talbot