He was forced to leave the Vuelta early due to health problems, but after a period of rest and recovery, Lennert Van Eetvelt is ready to finally wrap up his season. A season that had its highs and lows. There were high points in the UAE Tour, where he took a surprisingly strong victory. In the Strade Bianche too, where he made a strong finish together with Maxim Van Gils. Ultimately, also in the early stages of the Vuelta, where he secured an impressive second place in stage four and managed to stay in the top ten of the overall standings for almost the entire first week. But there were also setbacks. Van Eetvelt was out for weeks after Strade due to a knee injury and even had to undergo surgery. And that promising start to the Vuelta? He had to pull out after stage eleven. “I was able to resume fairly quickly after the Vuelta, but then I relapsed a few times. It wasn’t easy. We’re not exactly sure what was wrong. I had problems with my lungs and likely a series of viral infections one after the other.”
After more than a month without competition, Lennert Van Eetvelt is now ready to return just in time. Next week, he will be at the start of the Gree-Tour of Guangxi in China, but first, there is the Tour of Lombardy. Maxim Van Gils will not be at the start in Bergamo tomorrow. He fell ill after the World Championships in Zurich and wasn’t able to recover in time for the final monument. That means the team can fully focus on Van Eetvelt. “I feel good. In the end, that period after the Vuelta did me well. Lombardia will be one of the races where I feel the freshest at the start (laughs). That’s usually not the case at the end of the season.”
“Of course, Tadej Pogacar is once again the top favourite. But that shouldn’t stop us from racing. We can’t just submit to his supremacy, can we? If we all start with the mindset that we can’t follow him, we might as well know in advance who’s going to win. That would be a shame. On Friday, I scouted the last 75 kilometers of the race. I’m determined to finish the season on a positive note.”
Picture: Brecht Steenhouwer
