Few riders can say they have managed to beat Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in a Vuelta a España summit finish and Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) was on the point of doing so at Pico Villuercas on Tuesday.
But as the 23-year-old went under the gantries in a small group sprint of GC contenders, the talented young Belgian racer raised his right arm just a fraction too soon, allowing the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe leader to zip past at the last minute.
Van Eetvelt was understandably upset about losing out on the opportunity to claim his first-ever Grand Tour stage win, in the presence of an elite and hugely experienced group of rivals including Roglić, João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) and Enric Mas (Movistar). It was no surprise, then, that he let out a huge yell of disappointment as he crossed the line, nearly a wheel length behind the stage winner.
But while he described his excessive keenness to claim the victory as “kind of stupid” afterwards, Van Eetvelt also recognised that just by being up there in such prestigious company, he was taking a big step in his career.
“Did I think I had won when I made that arm movement? Yes,” he said to Belgian media with a sigh. “That's something you learn as a rookie, that you have to sprint right to the line, and not before it. I didn't sense Roglič was coming up, though, so I more or less thought I had the victory.
“What did I feel? Did you hear me shout? That's what I felt,” he told one reporter who asked about his sensations when handling such a narrow defeat.
It was, he said with a categorical refusal to beat around the bush, “a kind of stupid thing to do, but there will be more opportunities.”
Certainly, Van Eetvelt’s ability to stick with Roglič all the way to the summit, the only rider to do so, alongside Mas, could hardly fail to impress as a sign of his potential to go for more wins soon. Others like Almeida, Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Mikel Landa (T-Rex Quick-Step) only regained contact with the trio of leaders after the steepest segment of the climb, but Van Eetvelt dug deep to stay in touch with the two top performers of the day.
“For sure, I can be more than happy with the form I had and with how the race went today,“ Van Eetvelt said. “If I had been beaten in a different way, it would also have been a really nice result, but now it hurts a bit. I think in a couple of days I can be pleased with this result, too.”
Van Eetvelt also missed out narrowly on taking the leader’s jersey in the Best Young Rider’s classification, too, where he is still three seconds behind Bahrain Victorious racer Antonio Tiberi. But overall the signs could hardly be better for a rider who already won his first WorldTour stage race this season, the UAE Tour, largely thanks to a victory in the country’s toughest climb, the Jebel Hafeet.
A recent third place in the Clásica San Sebastian provided further indications that Van Eetvelt is on form, despite a nagging knee injury causing him problems. And given the Vuelta is often a race which acts as fertile ground for new young talent to shine, after Villuecas, the Belgian can already be said to form part of that tradition.
“I came here for the GC and this is good confirmation of my condition, it will give me and the team confidence to go for it in the Vuelta,” added Van Eetvelt, fifth overall in just his second Grand Tour.
“Of course I also have a sour feeling right now. But there are still plenty of days to come and if you see where I am in the rankings. I can only be happy.”
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