Van Eetvelt calls it a day after 11.5 kilometers and will not start Tirreno–Adriatico stage 2

Van Eetvelt started Strade Bianche as one of his team’s leaders. That was no surprise, given he had already collected several strong results in the race over the white roads. He had been hoping to improve on his ninth place from 2025, but that never materialised. After around 100 kilometers of racing, he crashed and did not get back on his bike. It was a setback, though at first it did not appear to carry major consequences.

Two days later, the climber was nevertheless back on the start line at Tirreno–Adriatico. The race began with the traditional short individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore, where Filippo Ganna took victory for the fourth time. Van Eetvelt, meanwhile, endured a difficult outing of his own: he finished 123rd, no fewer than 1:40 down on the winner. It was clear the still-stiff Belgian was far from moving freely.

It quickly became clear that he was suffering more from the crash than initially hoped. Together with his team, he therefore decided not to start stage 2. In the team’s statement, Lotto–Intermarché said: “Lennert Van Eetvelt will not start stage two of Tirreno–Adriatico, after a tough few days following his crash at Strade Bianche and the opening time trial.” It added: “Together with the performance and medical team, the decision was made to take no risks and focus on recovery, with the goal to return at full strength for the rest of his spring campaign.”

Under normal circumstances, Van Eetvelt’s spring is now expected to continue at Milan-San Remo on 21 March. He is also scheduled to line up later in the Ardennes, with La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège both on his programme.

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