Development Lotto Soudal U23 riders preview the Giro d’Italia U23

This Thursday, the Giro d'Italia U23 kicks off in Cesenatico.
Race 01 June 2021

This Thursday, five riders of the Lotto Soudal Development Team will be at the start of the Giro d’Italia U23. As a final preparation towards the Giro, Thibaut Ponsaerts, Luca Van Boven, Aaron Van der Beken and Lennert Van Eetvelt went on a one-week training camp to Tenerife. Arnaud De Lie finalized his preparation in Belgium. All five look ahead to the Giro, where they will all be making their debut.

Arnaud De Lie

“The Giro will be my first stage race in the U23 category, so I am very curious how my body will react to ten consecutive days of racing and also to riding in the high mountains”, says Arnaud De Lie. “In any case, this Giro will be an experience which will teach me a lot about myself. In the stages that suit me best, I do have the ambition to get a result. I have marked the first three stages and the closing stage because those stage profiles match my qualities as a rider best. I am also looking forward to the time trial on Sunday, because it has been a long time since I was able to ride against the clock. In the past, I never performed well in that discipline, so I am curious to see what progress I’ve made. It is a 25-kilometre time trial, so it can definitely give me a good indication. At the moment I am not yet nervous, but maybe I will be when I pin on my number Thursday morning”, concludes De Lie, two weeks ago third at the GP Vermarc.

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Thibaut Ponsaerts

“All teams consist of only five riders so it is wonderful I can be part of this Giro. The opening stage will be my second race day of the year, after the GP Vermarc. You can’t catch up on the lost race rhythm, but with a training camp in Tenerife I definitely had a good preparation. I did quite a few long and intensive training blocks uphill to be ready for the climbs at the Giro. The difficulty of the fifth stage can be compared to a race in the Ardennes and I have especially marked this stage. Later in the Giro, we will be racing in the high mountains, which will be a first for me. Several years ago, I rode the Classique des Alpes, but afterwards it became clear that I raced it with mononucleosis, so that is not really a reference. Compared to the non-Belgian teams, we barely raced this season. So in the beginning this could be quite tough but maybe it can also be an advantage for us near the end of the race”, concludes the 20-year-old Thibaut Ponsaerts.

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Luca Van Boven

The 21-year-old Luca Van Boven was really happy with his selection for the Giro: “I was over the moon when I heard that I could ride the Giro d’Italia. Even though we couldn’t race during the spring season for the second year in a row, I feel that I have a broader base compared to last year and I feel stronger. I have the ambition to be part of an early breakaway and then getting a good result. In the first place, I am thinking about stage three and six. The middle part of the third stage consists of three climbs, then it’s downhill towards a flat final. If I were to ride to the finish with a group of let’s say ten riders, I would wait for the sprint and not attack. And as the sixth stage is the day before the queen stage, I think the GC riders will give the breakaway some freedom. After a ten-kilometre climb, it’s downhill to the finish and I dare to go full gas in a descent. Besides, I hope to end the Giro with a good feeling. Ten consecutive days of racing is just unique as an U23 rider and it can only help to boost your endurance. This will certainly come in handy when the races come in quick succession during the second part of the season."

Aaron Van der Beken

“We are the only Belgian team riding the Giro U23 and that was also decisive in my choice for Lotto Soudal”, begins Aaron Van der Beken, who is riding his first season in Lotto Soudal outfit. “The training camp in Tenerife was the perfect preparation. We stayed near the coast, in Los Gigantes, which is an ideal place for training uphill. We did a lot of altitude metres and on three training rides, we went up to the summit of Teide, at 2,200 metres. It was nice to be away with the teammates, to be training together and to be bonding. I will take the Giro day by day. If it is possible, I would like to go for a nice general classification. I am looking forward to the toughest stages on day seven, eight and nine. If you ask me about the competitors, I immediately think of Henri Vandenabeele, who was with us on training camp and finished second at the Giro last year. For me, it is the first time I’ll be racing for ten consecutive days. The longest stage race I did was the Giro Valle d’Aosta, which was six days long. This endurance will have a positive effect on my development as a rider. In the future, I want to reap the benefits of this, but first I want to get as far as possible in the Giro.”

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Lennert Van Eetvelt

“Since I have only ridden two races this season, I find it really difficult to say where I am at, shape-wise. The past months, I kept on training to be ready when I needed to. With the GP Vermarc on May 15, we were finally able to race again and I was really happy about my race. The training camp in Tenerife was important to get used to long climbs and to find the rhythm uphill, because you can’t simulate that in Belgium. I go to the Giro with the attitude that every day is a new chance to show myself. I am really looking forward to the first three stages and the time trial. Stage seven is the one I fear the most, which is the queen stage. The final 30 kilometres are almost all uphill. I don’t really like such long climbs. I think, when you finish the Giro, you can do any kind of stage race. If I can end the Giro with a good feeling, then it will be more than successful for me”, concludes the 19-year-old Van Eetvelt.

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Images: Facepeeters.

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