Development Keije Solen solos to stage victory in the final stage of the Ronde de l’Oise, Mathias De Keersmaeker finishes an impressive fourth overall

The final stage took place from Beauvais to Liancourt on a selective course featuring a demanding local circuit in the finale. Lotto-Groupe Wanty started the day with the ambition of defending De Keersmaeker’s strong position in the overall standings. “The plan was to ride for Mathias because he was well placed in both the young riders classification and the general classification. He was really strong all week. The first half of the race was fairly controlled, but we knew the race would open up on the local circuits,” Solen explained after the finish.

The Dutch rider managed to survive the climbs and stay with the front group. “At the top of the final climb, I followed an attack. When that move stalled, I decided to keep going and managed to open a gap. Then I went all-in on the descent and was able to extend my advantage a little further.” With this victory, Solen confirms his strong form following his second place in Omloop Nieuwsblad U23. “Crossing the line solo is always special, so I’m obviously very happy with this victory.”

With Solen’s stage win and De Keersmaeker’s strong overall classification result, Lotto-Groupe Wanty can look back on a successful edition of the Ronde de l’Oise. “It was a great week with the team. We may have hoped for a little more here and there, but we really enjoyed the week together with the riders and staff,” concluded Solen.

Photo: Velo60.fr