Corbin Strong may have narrowly missed out on a fifth victory in 20 days at Circuit Franco -Belge on Friday, but his impressive summer continued as he finished second in the uphill sprint on Mont de-l’Enclus.
Strong, who finished third in the Belgian one-day race on his only previous appearance (2023), was narrowly beaten by late attacker Jonas Abrahamsen (UXM).
Nonetheless, off the back of his victories at the the back of his victories at the Tour de Wallonie and Arctic Race of Norway in the past three weeks, it was another eye-catching performance by the Kiwi.
“I was coming reasonably fast at the finish line, but yeah, in final 200 metres I could see that he probably had enough to hold on,” says Strong.
“It’s a bit gutting to come so close to the win because I felt like I had the legs, but, yeah, it was a really hot and difficult race out there today. I think everyone in the peloton was struggling more than we expected to struggle.
“I think with the course like this, with the hills section starting with like 120km to go, it was always going to be a long and really aggressive final. It was a difficult one to judge for myself, as my strength lies in being in a group at the end. I’m not the one who needs to force the pace on the climbs and try to get away.”
The 25-year-old was clearly the fastest on the finishing climb, having once again assisted by an impressive performance by his IPT teammates.
Home rider Floris Van Tricht followed a counter-attack from the peloton across to the day’s breakaway group with 55 kilometers remaining, ensuring it stayed within catching distance before it was caught with two laps of the finishing circuit remaining. Van Tricht, together with Joe Blackmore, then did the bulk of the chasing to all-but shut down a dangerous five-man break instigated by Abrahamsen 35 kilometers from the line.
However, despite Strong’s seemingly-effortless speed in the final 500 meters, the Norwegian had enough of a gap to hold on to take the victory.
He adds: “I think I had the legs to follow the attacks on the climbs, but if I followed every move, then I probably wouldn’t have had the legs to go at the finish. I really had to pick and choose what moments to follow and which moments to save myself. In the end, I think we just misjudged it and Jonas Abrahamsen was strong enough to stay away.
“In fact, we probably didn’t misjudge it – he’s just an incredibly strong rider, and everyone knows if you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile, and he showed that again today.”