Jordi Meeus wins the first stage of the five-day Tour de Wallonie (2.Pro) in Fleurus. On home soil, the Belgian sprinted to his second win of the season and took over the GC of the race. The 179.2km stage between Tournai and Fleurus in the Walloon part of Belgium featured three categorised climbs and three sections of cobblestones. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's tactics were clearly focussed on Jordi Meeus and a sprint finish. In the hectic finale of the stage, Meeus kept composure, was perfectly positioned and following a strong sprint, was able to celebrate the stage win.
From the Finish Line
“It was a pretty hard stage and the finale was super hectic. I managed to stay in a good position and launched my sprint at the right time. This victory wouldn’t have been possible without my team mates. They did a great job keeping the race together and I’m super happy that I was able to finish it off with a win.“ Jordi Meeus
“Jordi’s hard work definitely paid off. He just returned from altitude where he trained alone for the past couple of weeks. Today our goal was pretty clear - to take the the stage with Jordi. We did a recon yesterday to check out the finale, made a good plan and the boys executed our plan perfectly. Kicking off a race with a win is always a boost and so we’re very much looking forward to the next stages here.“ Heinrich Haussler, Sports Director