The Belgian team started the mixed relay without any ambitions. Go deep and see where we are stranded, that was the motto for the start.
“We are tired and satisfied”, Pieter Serry looks back. Quinten Hermans has also waived. “It was a serious effort after all,” he says. “We were here with two lighter men and a fast rider, then it sometimes hurts when you have to pick up on the flat. But it was certainly a good incentive towards Sunday.”
That was the general tenor in the Belgian camp: the mixed relay was looked at with a view to the road race. And in that respect it was a successful undertaking, according to the Belgians themselves.
“We got through it unscathed. We can therefore look back with satisfaction. I think all three of us are ready for Sunday,” says Van Hooydonck.
“A good warm-up for the road race”, Pieter Serry summarizes.
The women’s team is also satisfied with the performance. “We had practiced well together the past few days. It was a good relay for us,” says Jesse Vandenbulcke for Renaat Schotte’s micro.
Julie De Wilde enjoyed her first mixed relay: “I didn’t have the best legs the last few days, but today they were already a bit better. You always have moments of rest between the relays and then you have to go full every now and then. I liked it actually nice.”
“We had a plan and we were able to follow it well, so we’re definitely happy. It’s a good warm-up for what’s to come this weekend,” added Valerie Demey.
Renaat wondered whether the women are afraid of the predicted rain. “No”, was the answer of Vandenbuclke. “We are Belgians, so we are a bit used to it.”
Source: Sporza
