Duarte Marivoet scores an amazing sixth place in the overall classification of the French stage race, which is also considered the Tour de France of junior cycling. The team also wins the opening team time trial and wears the yellow jersey for three days.
The Tour du Valromey is to junior cycling what the Tour de France is to professional cycling. With extremely difficult stages and a first-class field of starters, the race through the French Alps is considered the most important tour in the international U19 calendar. Therefore, Team Auto Eder travelled to France with high ambitions: Besides the reigning German champion Paul Fietzke, Martin Bárta, Krystof Král (both Czech Republic), Theodor August Clemmensen (Denmark), Tamás Hancz (Hungary) and Duarte Marivoet (Belgium) were part of the six-man squad of the team from Raubling.
Team Auto Eder showed right at the start that they are one of the best U19 cycling teams in the world. The young team of the WorldTeam BORA-hansgrohe won the team time trial of the first stage, so that first Krystof Král and later Theodor August Clemmensen wore the yellow jersey of the overall leader. When the race went into the high Alps on the last two stages, they had to give up the overall lead, but with Duarte Marivoet they always stayed within striking distance of the best. In the end, the Belgian finished sixth overall as the best Auto Eder rider. Paul Fietzke finished in 20th place.
After their successful participation in the Tour de France of the juniors, the athletes of Team Auto Eder are now preparing for the next big highlight of the season in a team training camp in the Austrian Oetztal valley: From 5th to 13th of August the Road Cycling World Championships will take place in Glasgow, Scotland.
Result
1 AUGUST Andrew 11:16:13 hours
2 SEIXAS Paul + 0:23 minutes
3 BARHOUMI Ilian Alexandre + 2:07
4 BUSH Jacob + 2:17
5 SPARFEL Aubin + 3:30
6 MARIVOET Duarte + 4:16
Quotes
"Already at the beginning of the season, I had set this race as a big goal. We started directly very well with the victory in the team time trial, also after that, it was going pretty smoothly. I was only slightly behind the best in the mountains, so I'm pleased with my sixth place. In the last few months I have developed in a very good way." - Duarte Marivoet
"Duarte Marivoet's sixth place is a very good result that we can be happy with. With a little more tactical luck, even the podium might have been possible. Overall, we look back on a very successful week in France. We had three days with the yellow jersey, and we also won the team time trial at the start. Now a team training camp in the Oetztal valley is on the agenda, followed by the next big highlight of the season with the World Championships in Glasgow." - Christian Schrot, Sports Director