Toon Aerts almost claims Lotto-Intermarché victory: “Not that we were completely defeated”

Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious) won Thursday’s twelfth stage of the Giro d’Italia in spectacular fashion, but behind him, another Belgian was also making headlines. Toon Aerts (Lotto-Intermarché) took the sprint from the chasing group, coming very close to a major victory in his first Grand Tour.

“Before the Giro started, I had a talk with team director Maxime Bouet. He said that I would work for the guys at the start and that stage twelve would be mine. If you can win the sprint then, even if someone is ahead, it’s nice but also a bit frustrating,” Aerts told Eurosport.

“Maybe it softens the blow that it was Segaert, a rider we know well in the team. But honestly, it would have been nicer if I had won. I felt really strong in the sprint, and we’ll take that confidence into the future,” the proud Aerts added.

“To be honest, I didn’t see him leave. I was mainly focused on taking the right wheels, with Corbin Strong, Ethan Vernon, and Jhonatan Narvaez. When I launched my sprint, I saw he was still ahead. It’s unfortunate for me, but great for him. Imagine if I had won… but I’m really happy with second place.”

The day had started rather unfortunately for Lotto-Intermarché, with the withdrawal of team leader Lennert Van Eetvelt. “It’s a shame Lennert had to drop out because we all saw he was in great shape. He was very strong and said this morning: the body is fine, but the finger isn’t,” Aerts explained.

“At the same time, I have to thank the team for all the motivation they still give us, even after all the bad luck we’ve had. It’s not a victory, but we can keep moving forward with it,” said Aerts. “This morning on the team bus, together with the staff, we got a motivating speech from sports director Maxime Bouet. He said: ‘After all this bad luck, show what you’re still capable of.’”

“It was a moment to pick up our spirits again. Not that we were completely beaten, but losing your team leader of course has an impact. I shared a room with Lennert, and we got along very well,” Aerts continued.

“We worked all week for him, but when things go wrong, there’s really nothing more you can do. Then it’s hard to say anything useful. Maxime’s speech definitely helped us all get through the difficult moments of the stage,” he concluded.