This Thursday, March 21, Arne Marit won his first podium in a World Tour event by finishing second on the fourth stage of the Tour of Catalunya, seen as the only real opportunity for sprinters.
The teammates of Arne Marit were all devoted to the final with the Belgian sprinter, taking turns controlling the breakaway. Simone Petilli, Rein Taaramäe and Louis Meintjes neutralized the escapees to allow a group sprint in Lleida.
Kevin Colleoni, Francesco Busatto and Lilian Calmejane negotiated the last kilometers with some road furniture, mainly roundabouts. Initially ideally positioned in the final straight, Arne Marit was blocked along the barriers but still managed to finish within half a bike length of first place.
This is the second podium of the season for Arne Marit, who also took second place in the sprint at the Tour of Valencia in February.
“Just like last year we decided with the sports direction to add the Volta a Catalunya to my programme. A lot of strong climbers are present here, so I knew I had a chance on the victory in the flat stages like today. But to arrive here I had to survive three hard mountain stages. That’s why I’m happy that I gave it all to take this second place. When you finish close to success, you obviously want more. But I can be satisfied with this first World Tour podium.”
“I probably had the legs to do better, because I did my effort in two times because of a moment of hesitation. I would like to thank our climbers for the trust they had in me today. One by one, they did everything for me from the first to the last kilometer. Louis Meintjes even rode at the head of the race to control the gap with the escapees and thanks to Lilian Calmejane I was able to start the last 500 meters in the top five. Tomorrow it's time to climb again, although a sprint is not excluded. With today's confidence, we will try to control the stage together with the other sprinter teams.”
