Saddle break on Denain cobbles turns promising race into 3km standing effort

Hesters had done everything right up to that point. He was in the front group, well positioned as the race moved into its decisive phase. “I felt like I could finish in the top ten,” he said afterwards to Sporza, still sounding frustrated about how things unfolded.

Then came the incident. On one of the final cobbled sectors, he hit a hole at speed. “I was in the group of 40 riders fighting for the win when I hit a hole on the second to last cobbled section,” he explained.

It was the kind of impact riders try to absorb by shifting their weight. This time, that instinct backfired. “Because you try to absorb the shocks on the cobbles, I put my full weight on the saddle. That’s when it broke.”

From that moment, the race became a matter of damage control. The saddle was gone, the team car was nowhere nearby, and the cobbles kept coming. “It happened right at the start of the cobbled section. I think I stood on the pedals for about three kilometers.”

There was no real workaround. Sitting on the frame might be possible on smoother roads, but not here. “Because we were on cobbles, I couldn’t sit on the frame. I was hoping the team car would be there quickly, but it was still behind a chasing group.”

By the time he could switch bikes, the effort had already drained him. Riding out of the saddle for that long, especially on rough terrain, comes at a cost. “When I finally got a new bike, my legs were completely acidified from standing that long. That really hurt.”

Hesters still made it to the finish, eventually crossing the line in 44th place. A result that does not tell the full story. 

“It’s not bad, but it doesn’t say much. I really felt like a great result was possible,” he said disappointed.