ProTeam Gerben Thijssen sprints to 8th place in Etoile de Bessèges

The second stage of the Etoile de Bessèges was one for the sprinters, but was unfortunately marred by several crashes at the end of the race. It was the Belgian Timothy Dupont who took the win in a disrupted bunch sprint. Lotto Soudal youngster Gerben Thijssen finished 8th. Tomorrow's stage is expected to be another chance for the fast guys. Thijssen reacts disappointed about today’s result.

“My teammates had a lot of confidence in me today and it is such a pity that I couldn’t reward them for that”, says Gerben Thijssen. “I made the mistake of being a little too far back in the final. Fortunately, I was able to dodge the crashes, but there was so much more possible than 8th place.”

“It really is a fantastic feeling to have the support of the entire team. To be able to rely on a rider like John Degenkolb in the run-up to the sprint is really great. He gives me a lot of tips and I learn a lot from him, he’s the ‘teacher’ I missed in the past few years. The important thing now is to learn from my mistakes and focus on tomorrow.”

“I really hope to show my maximal sprint tomorrow. And then we’ll just see where that will bring me”, concludes the young Lotto Soudal rider.