On Wednesday 24th of September, Intermarché-Wanty secured another podium finish in a Belgian classic during the Omloop van het Houtland, a race of nearly 200 kilometers between Eernegem and Lichtervelde.
Three days after Gerben Thijssen’s flowers in the Gooikse Pijl, his compatriot Arne Marit also claimed third place, concluding the work of his teammates who controlled the preparation of the sprint on the local circuit of Lichtervelde. This parcours has brought success to the Walloon team in recent seasons, with victories in 2021 thanks to Taco van der Hoorn’s breakaway and in 2023 with Thijssen, who finished fifth in this edition.
"It feels great to be rewarded with a podium finish after a tough Vuelta, and to reap the benefits of three weeks of perseverance in the mountains. Today, it was important to stay alert all day for potential echelons, which created a lot of nervousness in the peloton and led to several crashes. That’s why, with Intermarché-Wanty, we decided to put in an acceleration with three laps to go. That effort helped split the peloton and created more structure in the race. My teammates set up a strong lead-out for Gerben Thijssen, and in my free role as second sprinter, I was able to protect his wheel from behind. When Tim Merlier passed me, I didn’t hesitate for a second and followed him, which allowed me to secure a podium spot. This was the last race of the season in Flanders, so I’m very satisfied with this result. In Belgium we only have our home race in Binche left and we aim to perform well there as well.”
