As in the opening stage on Monday, Paul Penhoët placed third on Tuesday in stage two of the Tour de Wallonie. On the other hand, he did it after a more selective final and within a peloton of around fifty riders. He now sits in third place overall and is first in the best young rider classification and in the points classification. On Wednesday, the GC contenders should battle on towards La-Roche-en-Ardenne.
From Saint-Ghislain in the Province of Hainaut, the Tour de Wallonie headed east this Tuesday to reach Ouffet, in the Province of Liège. Nearly 190 kilometres made up this second stage, a bit bumpy in the final. A first crossing of the finish line was planned with about thirty kilometres to go, before the decisive climb of Géromont (1.4 km at 8%) then a final, four-kilometre climb averaging 4%. Unlike the previous day, and while a breakaway including Baptiste Veistroffer, Cole Kessler, Johan Jacob and Pascal Eenkhoorn established itself right the start, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team let other squads take their responsibilities this Tuesday. “There was a lot of wind at the start of the race, so it was very nervous for some forty kilometers,” still said Jussi Veikkanen. The leading group was also reduced to three men before the halfway point, and the pack constantly kept things under control. At the first time on the finish line, the gap was only two minutes, and it was closed quite quickly as the leading trio was caught at the bottom of the Géromont climb, fourteen kilometres from the finish.
“It wasn’t really the goal for me to be there in the final”, Paul Penhoët
A few accelerations occurred from then on, but Lewis Askey and Rudy Molard followed them perfectly and came over the summit in a slightly detached group of eight riders. “On paper, we thought the final was going to be harder,” explained Jussi Veikkanen. “In the end, around fifty riders got back together before the last hill. The good thing is that we had four guys since Paul also managed to get back.” “It wasn’t really the goal for me to be there in the final, because we had three very good cards with Rudy, Sam and Lewis,” said Paul. “For me, the goal was rather to stay calm while waiting for the last two stages which could really suit me. In the end, I felt pretty good during the stage and on the steep, penultimate climb. I had decided to follow the leader of the race, Jordi Meeus. We were five seconds behind the leading group at the top of the climb, and I didn’t put any effort in his wheel, I felt really good on the climb, so I thought I could keep on going.” The small peloton then tackled the final climb while a group including Sam Watson was caught on the first slopes.
“We faltered a bit”, Jussi Veikkanen
Then, nothing happened. “We were aggressive at first with Lewis, Rudy and Sam who launched or followed attacks, but ultimately there was a front wind on the last climb, which prevented the moves,” added Jussi. “There were a few attempts at the bottom, but we quickly realized that it was going to be hard. Corbin Strong also had a few teammates left and they took control.” The Israel-Premier Tech team therefore prepared the sprint, while the road became flatter again 1500 metres from the line. “We faltered a bit in the sprint,” confessed Jussi. “Sam said he felt good, and Paul was unsure of his legs as he had been distanced previously. They lost each other, and Paul saw an opening in front of him, so he slipped into it.” “I told myself that it could still work, but then I was a little boxed into the barriers with 500 metres to go,” testified the young man. “It’s my fault too. I should have positioned myself better.” Slightly behind when opening his sprint, the Groupama-FDJ rider was unable to catch Corbin Strong and Emilien Jeannière but took third place. “We would have preferred to win, obviously,” Jussi said. “If we had communicated better together in the final, we could have tried to put Paul in a better position for the sprint. But it’s always easy to say afterwards. We’ll keep in mind that the team was strong with four riders at the front.” “The feeling is obviously a little mixed, but it remains quite positive regarding my physical form,” said Paul Penhoët.
Wednesday, the queen stage of the Tour de Wallonie will be on the menu with 3,500 metres of elevation gain. A stage which looks a little like an Ardennes Classic. “We have three riders who are doing really well, so everyone has to make the most of their qualities and use them as best as possible so that we get a result,” concluded Jussi.
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