Tudor proud after Opening Weekend: “Double podium in Kuurne shows the team’s resilience”

Stefan Küng was the headline signing for the Swiss team this winter, and the powerhouse time triallist was meant to be a key leader throughout the spring classics. Those ambitions took a major hit straight away in Omloop: Küng crashed heavily and broke his femur. He is set to undergo surgery soon, but is reportedly expected to miss the entire classics campaign.

Tudor’s misfortune in the season’s first Belgian race did not stop there. Lithuanian champion Aivaras Mikutis also went down and was unable to start Kuurne on Sunday. Rick Pluimers hit the deck as well: the Dutchman was in an excellent position on the Molenberg, but crashed hard on the cobbles.

Pluimers was nearly run over by eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel, but his compatriot managed to swerve around him at the last moment. The Tudor rider paid for his crash with part of his teeth, and as a precaution he also did not start Kuurne. That left Tudor lining up with just five riders on Sunday.

A huge stroke of bad luck for the team led by sports director Bart Leysen. “We came to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with high expectations and a good strategy, so the final result was a big disappointment.” Matteo Trentin ended up as the team’s best finisher in 15th place.

“The injury to Küng was a bitter pill,” Leysen said, while also trying to take some positives from a grim day. “Rick Pluimers showed he’s in good shape and fortunately got away with minor injuries — that’s a small consolation.” Even so, Tudor arrived in Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne the following day with an incomplete line-up.

On day two of Opening Weekend, however, things went brilliantly for the ProTeam. Victory went to Matthew Brennan, but the rest of the podium was coloured red and black: Luca Mozzato finished second and Matteo Trentin third in an entertaining edition of Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne.

Afterwards, Leysen reflected on an emotional day. “Starting with five riders wasn’t easy. The commitment from the team today was fantastic.” And the result made it even more special. “Seeing Luca Mozzato and Matteo Trentin both on the podium makes me so proud. It shows the incredible resilience within our team,” the Belgian said.

Trentin was also delighted with his third place — and with Mozzato’s second. “Today we got the maximum out of it. These two podium places are for my teammates who crashed yesterday, and for my teammates who helped me so much today. It was a team effort,” the Italian said.

In the reduced peloton, Trentin only just managed to take third — to his own surprise. “I didn’t expect I’d still have such good legs for the sprint, but in the end it went well.” So despite Saturday’s misfortune, Tudor can ultimately look back on Opening Weekend with a positive feeling.