Belgian team realistic about Classics after loss of Gilbert
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Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Marc Sergeant calls the shots on the Lotto team(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Marc Sergeant.(Image credit: Bert Geerts/dcp-bertgeerts@xs4all.nl)
Jens Debusschere (Omega Pharma-Lotto) was best young rider.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
You can only work with the tools at your disposal and Lotto-Belisol's manager Marc Sergeant's body language said exactly that at the end of Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday. Their highest placed finisher, Jens Debusschere, crossed the line in 24th place and although Sergeant admitted that this was not a full-strength line-up, he said that his team were building to the future.
It's a stark contrast to 2011, when Philippe Gilbert who pulled out 25 wins in a scintillating season that ran from January through to October.
"We didn't expect a lot coming into the race. Lets just say that's a story you'll hear a lot from us in the next few races," Sergeant told Cyclingnews at the finish in Waregem.
"Jens was almost there today, just a few riders back from the break, and was missing the last ten meters. We've got some talent in this team but it's young."
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
