Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) has been the surprise package of this cobbled Classics season so far, even without quite having the results to show for it, proving himself as a viable contender for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.
Few riders are capable of following the likes of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) when they ignite the racing on the Belgian cobbles. However, Pithie did just that at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and Gent-Wevelgem respectively, albeit describing the latter as “hell on a bike”.
