Not a flight, but a fake maneuver that gave Kobi Goossens the fighting spirit: “It started as a joke”

Who gets the fighting spirit award if no one attacks? Kobe Goossens got the token reward and the Intermarché-Wanty rider agreed with this choice of action.

“Yeah, that wasn’t really a fighting spirit, was it?” he laughed. Green jersey keeper Benjamin Girmay broke away from the peloton in the intermediate sprint. “It was a joke with Maxime (Van Gils) and Harm (Van Houck).”

“But then the team management told me that I had to continue to get points in the intermediate race. Maxim quickly dropped out, followed by Harm. Then I also waited for the peloton.”

“Was it a smart move for Green? Yes, it turned out well. Every point we can save for Penny is a point won and means one step closer to green.”

In the race for victory today, Benjamin Germay eventually finished second. “There was a lot of power in his sprint, but we couldn’t organize it this time,” said sporting director Eike Visbeck.

Gerben Thijssen had to compete for the green jersey and indicated before the start that he was having some difficulty in this role in the shelter.

“We’re looking at it day by day,” Vesbeck explained of the second runner’s role. “Gerben likes big acceleration and that’s why in this race it was better for him to come faster.”

“Maybe he will be given a different job or position in the next race. He wants to ride to win, but he’s here to learn.”

“Gerben is getting an intensive training course in Tour-level running. His athletic heart is bleeding, but he can already look back on a very good Tour.”