This Friday, Kobe Goossens took the second victory of 2023 for Intermarché-Circus-Wanty thanks to an impressive stunt in the Trofeo Andratx, the third race of the Mallorca Challenge.
After animating the beginning of the race alongside Rui Costa, the winner of the Trofeo Calvia two days earlier, the Belgian rider attacked at the foot of the Coll de Puig Major, the principal climb of the parcours with 70 kilometer to go. He managed to join the breakaway and even pass them together with Cian Uijtdebroeks. On the top their advantage was around one minute.
The two men showed an impressive resistance to the peloton, which desperately tried to decrease the gap. Goossens then distance Uijtdebroeks, starting a solo of 20 kilometer towards the finish on top of Mirador d’Es Colomer.
At the end of the final clim of 3 kilometer, Goossens won with an advantage of 39 seconds on the first chaser. It is his first victory as a professional rider and his first success since the Tour du Jura 2019. Rui Costa took thirteenth place. With this victory, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty is the only team to finish on the first three races of the Mallorca Challenge.
« ‘You have to believe Kobe, you're really strong!' is what Rui Costa told me when returning to the hotel after his victory in the Trofeo Calvia. Today, Rui and I were the protected riders in this Trofeo Andratx. When it started raining, I asked Mike Teunissen to make use of the slippery roads to accelerate and make a selection. I then managed to bridge to the race lead on my own on the Coll de Puig Major. Once I formed a duo with Cian Uijtdebroeks, the collaboration was really good. I had a lot of confidence in my equipment downhill in these weather conditions and I took advantage of this to distance him. I gave everything to the finish. My sports director Dimitri Claeys kept on informing me about the growing time gaps. It was a boost for my confidence. Approaching the final climb my legs were completely empty, I with a gap of almost 2 minutes I knew I had a realistic chance on the victory. Taking a victory was one of my main goals for this season, so I'm really happy to achieve this on from my second race day of 2023! » « Since I started cycling, as each kid, I dreamed of winning. That's why I make all these efforts every day. I dedicate this victory to my nearest and to the team, which believes in me. Within Intermarché-Circus-Wanty we are happy with each other's success. We are a very close-knit and also a strong group here on Mallorca. One could already notice during our team training camp in Alicante last week that the level was again higher than last year. Tomorrow I'll participate in the Trofeo Serra de Tramontana alongside a couple of fresh riders. I'm happy to help my teammates to enable them to achieve the best possible result for the team. »
