Second overall for Corbin Strong at Tour de Wallonie
Only countback denied Corbin Strong the first GC victory of his professional career on Friday, as the Kiwi rider and his IPT teammates did everything they could to usurp Matteo Trentin from the top of the Tour de Wallonie standings.
Strong finished second in the arduous final stage, which had a Spring Classics feel to it thanks to an early ascent of the Oude Kwaremont and four passages up the Mur de Thuin to finish.
The six bonus seconds he gained on the line wiped out Trentin’s time advantage on GC, but unfortunately the Italian rider’s cumulative stage rankings for the five-day race (47) proved to be lower than Strong’s (82). Frustratingly, Strong’s relegation in the stage four sprint, which dropped him from fifth to 60th, played a significant role in determining the GC.
“My teammates, like they have all week, looked after me and gave me every chance to win,” says Strong. “Unfortunately one rider went clear and stayed away at the finish today, taking the 10 bonus seconds. I was able to pick up the six seconds, so it was pretty disappointing to finish on the same time as Trentin, with the countback being decided by my relegation yesterday. That’s a tough pill to swallow.
“However, I’ve had a lot of fun racing here – I’m happy with the week of racing.”
IPT’s strong performance across the five days also saw top-10 GC finishes for Simon Clarke (sixth, 18 seconds down) and former Tour de Wallonie winner Dylan Teuns (10th at 19 seconds). Nick Schultz also indicated his summer form by spending nearly all of the stage in the brekakaway.
