Development Cuylits and Van de Putte ride to another one-two in Tour de Namur finale

For Cuylits, the victory was particularly special after the disappointment of the previous day. “The past 24 hours have been very strange. Yesterday, I lost the leader’s jersey purely because of a mechanical problem. For a moment, I had completely lost the motivation to race today, even though we had won yesterday in a great way with Victor Van de Putte.”

During the stage, Cuylits managed to turn things around. “With 20 kilometres to go, I jumped across to the breakaway group where Victor Van de Putte and Halvor Dolven were riding. On the final climb, six of us went clear and we were able to play the team game. That’s how Victor and I managed to get away together.”

The two teammates were then able to ride towards the finish together and decided between themselves who would take the stage victory. Cuylits eventually crossed the line first. “It was really nice to ride to the finish together after the disappointment of yesterday.”

Despite the four stage victories, Cuylits is left with a slightly bitter feeling. “In the end, we won four stages and the green jersey with Victor Van de Putte, but not the overall classification, partly because of yesterday’s mechanical problem. That’s disappointing and a small blemish on the week, but we’ll mainly remember the positive momentum and the great results.”

Photo: Alexis Dancerelle