The 101st edition of the Tour of Catalunya started this Monday with a nervous opening stage on a wet circuit of 171 kilometer around Sant Feliu de Guíxols.
At the start of the race an early breakaway of six riders was formed before crosswinds caused splits in the peloton with 90 kilometer to go. All groups and the peloton came together again after the Alto de Granga 50 kilometer before the finish line.
Immediately after, Théo Delacroix launched a new attack alongside five other riders. The former French U23 champion was third in both intermediate sprints and rode in the lead of the race until the final 7 kilometer.
In a sprint with a reduced peloton of around 50 riders, Jan Bakelants crossed the line in sixteenth position. Thanks to the help of his teammates, also Louis Meintjes finished in the first group despite of a puncture with only 12 kilometer to go.
After a busy month of competition in February, I had two good weeks of resting and training to prepare this Tour of Catalunya. This race suits me quite well, I want to play an important role for the team in all stages. There were chances for a breakaway to stay ahead today and that’s why my mission today was to follow the attacks. It was promising because I managed to join a group of strong riders on the hilly and tortuous roads. But in the end the sprinter’s teams kept control. We needed maximal concentration all day because of the rain and the wind and in the final my teammates had to deal with a puncture of Louis Meintjes. I’m very motivated to guide him well towards the foot of the climbs and to attack more in the next days.
