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Niels Driesen opens Ronde de l’Isard with third place

The Ronde de l’Isard got off to a strong start for Lotto-Groupe Wanty, as Niels Driesen claimed an impressive third place in the opening stage. “I didn’t have the punch left to get past the first two riders, but this definitely gives me confidence.”
Race 20 May 2026
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With 162 kilometres and 2,713 metres of elevation between Biars-sur-Cère and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, the Ronde de l’Isard immediately delivered a demanding opening stage. The stage race is one of the most prestigious events for development riders and, with Jarno Widar as the defending winner, Lotto-Groupe Wanty had something to live up to in France. The team, featuring Niels Driesen, Samuel Greenwell, Duarte Marivoet, Wouter Toussaint, Lucas Van Gils, Edouard Claisse and Tuur Verbeeck, succeeded right from the start, opening the race with a fine third place for Driesen.

“There was a long climb right at the beginning,” Niels Driesen explained. “The pace was already very high there and that’s where the early breakaway formed. Afterwards, we were able to control the race fairly well until Ineos suddenly started attacking on another climb… At that moment we weren’t perfectly positioned and that caused a bit of stress.”

Everything came back together in the finale, however. “I started the final climb in a good position, but unfortunately I no longer had the punch in the last hundred metres to get past the two Astana riders in front of me. In the end, I can be satisfied with third place because it gives me a lot of confidence for the tougher stages later this week.”

 

Picture: PhotoNews