Luca Mozzato wins the Bredene Koksijde Classic
Luca Mozzato won the Bredene Koksijde Classic on Friday after a race marked by tacking and a headwind final sprint.
Photos : Getty Images
“I wasn’t great at all at the start of the season, but the win really erases everything. I’m happy to win here in Belgium because these are always great races. All victories have value, but here especially. My team-mates from the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team put me in a very good position all day. We know that in these races you always have to run to the millimetre, and that’s what I tried to do. These are competitions that require constant concentration, and I like that. The wind also plays a major role here, and with all the sprinters involved, I never left the front, knowing that it could break. And it did. The sprint? I was in the same position and I waited for the right moment to make the effort that allowed me to win”.
“I knew at the start of this Bredene Koksijde Classic that the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team had some very good cards. It was a real Belgian race with lots of edging and tension. In this scenario, Luca Mozzato is really a little cat: he knows how to sneak in when there’s wind, he’s a real artist of his kind. I knew that would suit him today. He wasn’t trapped once. Amaury Capiot and David Dekker were caught out by a crash in front of them, which delayed them. But they were able to count on a great deal of work from Alan Riou and Pierre Thierry, which enabled them to catch up with the front of the pack. I’d also like to pay tribute to Nicolas Milesi’s great burst of energy right up to the Kemmelberg. When the front grouped together, I knew we had a real chance with Luca, Amaury and David, our 3 fastest riders in the first peloton. I told them in my earpiece: “We may not be the fastest, but with a headwind, guys, anything can happen! And Luca made the most of his opportunity. Despite everything, my emotions are mixed because Amaury crashed on the last bend and he went for tests after the stage.”