Team Jumbo-Visma misses decisive battle in Three Days Bruges-De Panne
The last one-day race of the season turned out in a disappointment for Team Jumbo-Visma. From the start in Bruges, the Three Days Bruges-De Panne was dominated by echelons. Partly due to punctures and bicycle swaps, the yellow-black brigade was chasing all the way. Yves Lampaert soloed to victory in De Panne.
The strong wind created a great spectacle. Crashes, punctures and many early abandonments marked the Belgian semi-classic. The peloton was torn to pieces early in the race. Due to punctures of Timo Roosen and Maarten Wynants and bicycle swaps for Bert-Jan Lindeman and Amund Jansen, Team Jumbo-Visma had to chase early. That attempt seemed to succeed at one point, but ended with the group in sight. Roosen squeezed out a sprint and was the first Team Jumbo-Visma rider to cross the finish line.
"We had some bad luck in the opening phase."
Sports director Arthur van Dongen had seen a spectacular and tough race. “We had some bad luck in the opening phase. As a result, we were never able to be powerful at the head of the race. The first echelon was already gone before we were properly positioned as a team. We later got into the big chasing group with five men, but the first group was just a lot stronger. In the end, we just couldn’t close the gap at the defining moment. Unfortunately we didn’t get more.”