Kobe Goossens conquers mountain jersey at Tour de Romandie

After being the last man standing of yesterday’s early breakaway, Lotto Soudal rider Kobe Goossens went again on the attack as the rain came pouring down in stage four of the Tour de Romandie. The 25-year-old’s attacking spirit paid off as Goossens collected enough mountain points on the way to Thyon 2000 to take over the lead in the mountains classification from the Swiss rider Joel Suter. As there are no more mountain points to be gained in tomorrow’s closing time trial in Fribourg, Goossens only has to finish inside the time limit to take home the jersey.

“This mountain jersey is my first leader’s jersey as a professional, and to realise this in a WorldTour race, makes it even more special. In addition, the weather conditions and the long climbs made for a brutally tough stage. It is one of the most epic days on the bike in my career so far”, Kobe Goossens said.

After a fast start to the stage, Goossens went again on the attack. Teammate Matthew Holmes was also part of the breakaway.

“From the start, there was a clear plan to go in the breakaway and it maybe was a little easier to be part of it, compared to yesterday. But I certainly didn’t get the mountain jersey for free, I had to fight for every point. Matthew Holmes as an extra teammate in the breakaway was of course also an additional asset.”

Following a brief neutralisation of the race in the descent of the penultimate climb, the early breakaway started the gruelling twenty kilometres long final climb towards Thyon 2000 with more than five minutes advantage. Magnus Cort Nielsen was the last survivor of the early break of seven, but at the very end, the GC guys battled it out for the win. It was Mike Woods who rode to victory and the leader’s jersey

“Yesterday’s stage really had its impact on me. I didn’t feel great all day and at the bottom of the final climb, I immediately chose my own pace. I felt that I had spent my best forces and I certainly wasn’t thinking about the stage win anymore. With the weather conditions and the course we had to endure the past days, I think nobody felt really fresh anymore. Tomorrow is the closing time trial, in which I only have to finish to secure the mountain jersey. Depending on how I feel, I will go flat out one last time. After that, the focus shifts towards my first Giro d’Italia”, concludes Kobe Goossens.

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