This Sunday 4th of May, Intermarché-Wanty secured a podium on its Walloon home soil thanks to its Belgian sprinter Arne Marit, who finished third in the Famenne Ardenne Classic.
This podium is the result of collective work from the entire team, with the experienced Adrien Petit spending a long time at the front of the peloton to control the pace, followed by the young Simone Gualdi, tasked with following the attacks on the hilly local circuit, with the Côte de Roy as the main difficulty.
Despite numerous attacks, a sprint finish decided the outcome of this classic in Marche-en-Famenne. Led out by Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, Maxence Place, and finally Laurenz Rex, the finishers Arne Marit and Hugo Page contested the sprint for the victory.
The Belgian Marit finished third, just a wheel behind the winner, and secured his second podium of the season, while Hugo Page took seventh place in his first race in more than a month.
"This new podium is another satisfaction in this first part of the season, following the one at the Tour Down Under and a fourth place at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Especially after a disappointing 2024 personally, as it was full of setbacks. Thanks to superb teamwork from the initial phase right up to the final, we were ideally positioned. However, with about two kilometers to go, I lost the wheel of Laurenz Rex because two riders ahead of me tangled. During the previous laps, I had understood that there would be space on the left, so I was able to get back into the top ten thanks to a strong acceleration. I saw Laurenz Rex at the front and wanted to get back into his wheel, but at that moment, the XDS Astana train started up, and I followed them. When launching with 150 meters to go, I was hindered by a push from a competitor and narrowly avoided touching Kanter's rear wheel, which forced me to brake. The succession of accelerations and a not perfectly timed jump probably explain why the victory escaped me. This podium is another good result on my palmares. I now approach the rest of my program with confidence, with several French classics: the GP du Morbihan, the Tro Bro Leon, and the Classic Dunkerque."
