New Zealander Laurence Pithie may have ended the second major cobbled Classic of his young career at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in 43rd place, on the face of it, a fairly anonymous result, but the number on the results sheet was some way from telling the story of his Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.
The 21-year-old, who turned pro with Groupama-FDJ last year, was one of the riders out front over the 'hill zone' mid-section of the race. He'd break away alongside the eventual podium trio Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike), Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates), and Oier Lazkano (Movistar) on the cobbled climb of Mont Saint Laurent 87km from the line.
"I came here with good form, and I really wanted to do well in these Classics," Pithie told Cyclingnews after the finish. "So, if I want to be with the best, then that's where I have to be. It was unfortunate not to be able to follow the acceleration of the best guys in the race in the end, but that's racing.
"I had really good positioning," he said of the mid-race 'hill zone'. "The boys kept me in front into the important climbs. When Visma accelerated, I was able to follow, and then on the steep cobbled climbs when Van Aert went, I had the legs to follow as well.
"I was definitely suffering with his acceleration over the top of the climb, so I tried to play my cards right and save energy where I could and recover a little bit, but, in the end, I couldn't follow his acceleration."
Pithie had been at the head of the race since Visma blew things apart 5km earlier and would go on to stick with the leaders until the day's penultimate climb before battling for fourth in the chase with Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike).
The trio wouldn't stick it out to the line though, instead being swallowed up by a larger chase group inside the final 10km. Despite missing a top result at the end of the race, he was pleased with his day on the bike.
"It's really positive," he said. "It would have been nice to hold on to try and go for that fourth place. But in the end, the peloton was coming fast, and it was a good day out. I'm happy with it."
The performance is another positive to add to the list of strong rides to start 2024. He scored his first career WorldTour win at last month's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, and he's also taken top five placings at the Surf Coast Classic, the New Zealand national road race and time trial, and a trio of Tour Down Under stages.
After almost a month of racing spent in the southern hemisphere, racing in the Belgian cold was something of a shock, and there'll be more grim weather and harsh roads to come, starting with Le Samyn and taking in more cobbled Classics next month.
"It's like a freezer here in Belgium, so coming from Australia, it's very different," Pithie joked. "The racing is a lot more aggressive here, and it's racing I love. I was happy to be there today. I just missed a little bit of legs, but with each race, I'll get better."
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