Søren Wærenskjold goes into the final of the Baloise Belgium Tour as the leader. The Norwegian had to dig deep in the queen stage in and around Durbuy but is still two seconds ahead of Mathias Vacek and six ahead of stage winner Alex Aranburu.
Søren Wærenskjold’s empire had a serious wobble in Durbuy. First challenger Mathias Vacek went on the attack 28 kilometres from the finish line. The Czech was joined by Lorenzo Rota, Jenno Berckmoes and Joseph Blackmore, but scored big in the Golden Kilometre, grabbing nine important bonus seconds. Vacek seemed to have a shot at the lead but was called back to order in the closing kilometre along with his teammates.
“It looked really good for us in the first part of the race. After all, we had Jonas Abrahamsen with us in the early breakaway,” Wærenskjold commented. “We also knew that when that breakaway was neutralised, things would be fierce, and my leading position would be threatened. But I was able to fall back on a strong team. Moreover, other teams had set their sights on the day’s victory, and we got some support in the chase that way.”
“However, I am not made for this kind of stage, despite finishing fourth here last year. Had I not had a leader’s jersey to defend today, I really wouldn’t have gone to the limit,” Wærenskjold concluded.
