© BELGA
With two wins out of three, Eli Esserbit could look back on a successful run in the United States. West Fleming of Pauwels Sauces – Bingoal climbs on board with a sense of satisfaction.
“I signed up for this earlier,” Isrbet smiled after winning. “I knew Iowa and Waterloo were on my side. But Quinten (Hermans, ed.) was also good today. I wouldn’t have finished it if it wasn’t for that fall. Lars resisted too. For my part, that climb of Mount Crumpet, I gave him a full pedal. You had to split Because completing the circle was impossible.”
Esserbet had enjoyed his American trip. “It’s nice here,” he said. “It’s such a shame that we have to leave. Everything is so well organized here, everything went very professionally. And I got it. That can be said too.”
Lars van der Haar: You should have tried something
Lars van der Haar resisted the tallest but also had to bend over. “I wasn’t at the wheel on this climb of Mt. Cropett. I had to try something but it didn’t work. Then I had to hope something went wrong and it didn’t.”
The Dutchman of Trek Baloise Lions partially corrected his slip last Wednesday. “After Wednesday, it was really good, and I had to lift myself up again. On Wednesday I made mistakes, for example starting with a full stomach.”
Michael Vanthourenhout: ‘It wasn’t really cool’
Michael Vanthourenhout was satisfied with the third place. He knew “in the end, the best of the two are gone.” “Elie was stronger too, and it was so bad for him that he fell. Getting back on that path was impossible.”
Vanthourenhout had to tackle Toon Aerts in a duel for third place. “I wasn’t actually at the top, but I knew I had to go up Mount Crobet first, and since then there’s been full throttle going uphill. I finally got my third place easily.” (gvdl)
