“Obviously you don’t get many opportunities to race for the win,” Durbridge reacted to the third stage. “To not come away with the win I’m a bit disappointed but I’m really happy that we stayed away.” Durbridge is particularly pleased with how the early breakaway managed to stay out of the peloton’s reach with a perfect strategy.
“We had four of us really committing to the breakaway and I think that’s the only way you can stay away,” the Team BikeExchange rider explained. “We played a bit of a cat and mouse [with the peloton]. “We knew on this circuit it was quite technical. If we didn’t play the game with the peloton we would always get caught.
“And then with 40km to go we just did a team time trial. It’s not the first time Taco stayed away here as well. We knew we had Norsgaard and Battistella as well, who are really strong. Happy to stay away but obviously you always want to race for the victory.
Durbridge admitted the general classification “is a goal” and was hoping to take the leaders’ jersey on Wednesday, but had to settle for the lead in the Super 8 Checkpoint, which also came with a keg of beer. “Any jersey is nice, isn’t it. Maybe we’ll try and defend it the next few days. I love Belgium, so I also really like a nice beer.”
