Visma takes a risk and loses big in Elfstedenrace finale

Visma | Lease a Bike came up short in Wednesday's BetCity Elfstedenrace, with Christophe Laporte taking third place behind the dominant Taco van der Hoorn. Laporte lost the sprint for second to hometown favorite Jelte Krijnsen. After the race, the Dutch WorldTour team had mixed feelings about their performance.

As usual in Friesland, the wind played a big role, creating a race full of echelons. Visma | LaB managed to stay in the leading group of around twenty riders with three men: Mick van Dijke, Tosh Van der Sande, and Laporte. Laporte was also part of the final selection, which left just five riders to fight for the win. In the end, Laporte couldn’t respond to a strong attack from Van der Hoorn but held on to secure third in the sprint.

Team director Maarten Wynants shared his thoughts on the team’s website, saying that they had anticipated a tough race on the flat, wind-swept roads of Friesland. "We knew the wind would be a big factor, so we wanted to race aggressively. The guys did exactly that. We had five riders in the mix when the echelons first formed, and eventually, three of them made it into the front group," Wynants explained.

"We were in a great position with Christophe going into the final," he added. But Visma | LaB was missing one more rider in the finale, especially with Laporte being the marked man. "Unfortunately, everyone was watching Christophe, and it was tough for him to control the race. We gambled as a team and lost in the end, but there’s no doubt we raced well," Wynants concluded, pleased with the team's effort.d

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Christophe Laporte

Frisian young start Krijnsen beats Laporte in the sprint for second place: "I expected him to pass me"

For Jelte Krijnsen, it was a race day in 'his' Friesland. The local rider from Parkhotel Valkenburg, who will be riding for Jayco AlUla in the WorldTour next year, secured an impressive second place. "It still feels a bit bittersweet, but it's not a bad result," the Dutchman said in his analysis for Omrop Fryslân. "It's always nice to be on the podium in your own province. I had gambled that the WorldTour guys would close the gap, but they were all just watching each other. So second was the best I could do today."

For that second place, he managed to beat none other than Laporte in the sprint. "I actually expected him to come over the top of me, so I thought I’d at least be third. But that didn’t happen, so second is even better." However, he had a different scenario in mind for the finale. "I was hoping that as a Continental rider, they’d let me go, that they’d be more focused on each other. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen."

Like the day's winner, Van der Hoorn, Krijnsen also reflected on a tough day in Friesland. "The pace never really let up. Right from the start, it was full gas. In the end, we went hard for 200 kilometers straight. Definitely a tough day," smiled the Dutchman, on a day when he was able to keep up with the WorldTour riders. "It wasn’t easy, but it's great that I can hang with these guys. Next year, I’ll be racing among them all the time, so I’ll have to."

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