Vanthourenhout: “Never thought I could finish third here”

“I certainly would not have dared to dream and certainly not dare to aspire to a third place before the start of the race”, said Vanthourenhout. “I’ve been really seriously ill the past few days. I expected that I would ride a good first half here in Hamme, but then I was afraid that I would fall back completely. That didn’t happen. Fortunately, I even take a podium place. I thought Pim Ronhaar was the best of the three when we got behind Wout van Aert. Maybe Ronhaar was a bit overconfident, because in the final lap he fell a bit after a bike change.”

Going to world championship

Besançon is not on Vanthourenhout’s schedule. Hamme was his last cross in the run-up to the world championship. “This third place is already a great pleasure for Hoogerheide. Tomorrow I want to schedule another solid training session. Next Sunday it will be important to let Wout van Aert get through the first round in the best possible position. perhaps every man for himself. And let’s be honest. A third place will be the highest achievable if your name is not Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel,” Vanthourenhout reported.