Afterwards, there was some disappointment, but Christophe Laporte quickly saw the bigger picture following Binche-Chimay-Binche. The Frenchman—who had been sidelined for a long time due to a stubborn virus—stood on a race podium again for the first time in a year on Tuesday.
At Binche, Laporte actually crossed the line in third place behind winner Jordi Meeus and Nils Eekhoff, after a tough sprint. "It’s been a long time since I stood on the podium. The last time was last season," Laporte began after the race in an interview with Sporza. "I’ve had a difficult year, so I’m happy I could compete for the win here."
"Still, there’s a bit of disappointment when you come so close to victory. I struggled to find my rhythm and got somewhat blocked in the final meters. I’m glad about how I felt and the result. Of course, you’d rather win."
From anticipation to sprinting
Team director Maarten Wynants also shared his thoughts afterward on the Visma | Lease a Bike website. "This was a very fast race. It took nearly eighty kilometers before a breakaway group could even create a gap. We managed to anticipate this because we had Victor (Campenaerts, ed.) and Niklas (Behrens, ed.) in certain breakaways."
"At one point in the race, we made the decision to fully commit to the sprint. The team executed this plan well. Christophe picked the right wheel in the final phase but briefly lost contact and thus his momentum. Third place is a nice result, but with a bit more luck, there might have been more. All in all, we had a good day today."
