Some enjoy and others suffer. Smiles and worries. So is cycling. Where some see paradise, others feel expelled and mistreated. The Netherlands has been a paradise for sprinters, and more specifically for one, the Irishman Sam Bennett, who repeated his victory in Breda, and for Jumbo-Visma, Roglic's Dutch team that ran at home and passed the jersey of leader, from Gesink to Teunissen and now to Affini. But the two stages in line have been hell for cyclists with aspirations, those who think about the general, who only thought of saving the day, turning the page and taking the transfer to Vitoria, where the road race will resume on Tuesday Basques. More than one breathe easy.
The passage through Utrecht, s'Hertogenbosch and Breda has been a success with the public. A party for each town, where the fans took to the streets. But it has also meant a factory of nerves and tension for the peloton. Road narrowing, ninety-degree curves and more, passages through the center of many towns, islets... What is heaven for the daily use of bicycles by citizens has become a mousetrap for professional cyclists.
To this, we must add that the sprinters had to take advantage of these two stages because they did not have more safe opportunities, perhaps until the arrival of Cabo de Gata, already in stage 11, on the last day of August. So the pace was very high. While the sprinters wanted to raise their arms, the climbers and favorites have simply crossed their fingers.
One of those who kissed the asphalt was Richard Carapaz, the Ecuadorian from Ineos, one of the important men after finishing second in the 2022 Giro. The Olympic champion fell 20 meters from the finish line, on a curve crossing a town. Sivakov and Geoghegan Hart helped him integrate into the peloton. Before, at the beginning, Michael Woods (Israel) went home, forced by another accident.
Little happened for what could have been, Alejandro Valverde came to say. The Murcian from Movistar got rid on Sunday but not on Saturday. “The layout? don't fuck with me I prefer to take a shower before talking about the route, ”lamented the veteran cyclist, who says goodbye in 2022. He did not want to extend himself but Valverde understood everything. “They cannot be this type of circuits. We have passed through the same town seven times. It seems there were no more towns to pass through here. Speak with someone? Enough with what I have said, ”he said, angry with the organization.
Mikel Landa, third in the Giro, also entered the debate. "The stage has been very nervous, with islands, curbs and sidewalks," he stated. Although he was more conciliatory. "We're not used to running on these roads," he put it down. Both in the second and in the third stage he was seen to climb well positioned, protected by Luisle Sánchez, Sütterlin and Wright, to avoid scares or being cut off.
Even Sam Bennett, the Irishman from Bora who has done a double, suffered from that nervousness.
“Many runners wanted to be at my wheel. They got between me and Danny. There have been a lot of hitches”, he explained about the preparation of the sprint. Merlier's Alpecin and Pedersen's Trek were the two teams that worked the hardest. However, at just the right moment, Danny van Poppel and Bennett appeared, barely worn down. The Dutch pitcher, one of the best today along with Morkov, left Bennett in an excellent position and the Irish sprinter triumphed again. The favorites settled for arriving healthy and intact while Affini succeeded teammates Teunissen and Gesink in red. Three leaders, all from Jumbo, and none is Roglic, well crouched.
