Wanty-NIPPO-ReUz has won the first UCI stage race in its young history, with Felix Ørn-Kristoff securing the overall victory in the Tour de Bretagne this Thursday 1st of May.
The 19 year old rider, who was in the lead of the event since his stage victory on the fourth day, beautifully rewards the work of all his teammates, who sacrificed themselves to allow him to preserve his leader’s jersey until the end of the seventh and final stage held between Landébia and the Plencoët circuit.
Successively, Elmar Abma, Zeno Moonen, Tobias Müller, Halvor Dolven, and Victor Hannes pulled the peloton to control the breakaways and then neutralise the attacks of the general classification contenders. Their work allowed the race leader to only be exposed once in the final lap, to ensure a bunch sprint.
At the end of the event, Felix Ørn-Kristoff wins the final general classification with a 13 second lead over his closest competitor and also returns home as the winner of the best young rider classification. This is the fifth victory of the season for the young team directed by Kévin van Melsen.
“I must admit I wasn’t feeling good this morning. I’ve been reviewing our plans to secure the overall classification all night, so I didn’t sleep well. I was suffering a lot on the first two steep climbs, the Vallée Vert and Jugon les Lacs, and knew it was going to be hard to defend the jersey. I was even dropped on the second one, but luckily, like the whole week, I had the support of strong teammates to protect me from the wind, to bring me drinks, to bring me to the front and to motivate me in difficult moments like today. When I returned to the peloton I tried to stay cool to not react on every attack. It worked, because even when a group of six riders with one of the GC contenders escaped, we managed to regain control of the race with one lap to go. I am really grateful for the help of my teammates, who were there for when I need them. We will really enjoy celebrating this special victory together with our staff and a bottle of Vini Fantini.”
