BMC Racing vow to fight on despite Porte crashing out

16 July 2018 06:19
The BMC Racing team suffered a Sunday in Hell on stage 9 of the Tour de France, with Richie Porte crashing out and Tejay van Garderen losing five minutes. But on a happier note, Greg Van Avermaet extended his overall race lead to 43 seconds over Team Sky's Geraint Thomas, while the Belgian is also expected to confirm that he'll stay with the team in 2019 as part of a team-saving merger with CCC Sprandi secured by manager Jim Ochowicz. Van Avermaet was disappointed not to win the stage while wearing the iconic yellow jersey after being beaten by Trek-Segafredo's John Degenkolb, but accepted defeat and vowed to fight on despite the loss of Porte.ADVERTISEMENT "I thought I was going to win. I believed in my sprint," the Belgian rider said, his usually controlled voice an octave sadder in disappointment. "I think it would have been a really nice picture, winning in this jersey. That was a really big goal. But sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and that's it. Maybe I started a little too late – maybe I should have attacked by myself first, but after any race you always look for an explanation about how you could win. For me, it's a big disappointment." Van Avermaet was gutted to hear the news that Porte had crashed early on in the stage. Savouring the good results, not the bad news You can read more at Cyclingnews.com.read full article

Source: Cycling News