Van Eetvelt's pressure-free Giro surge: 'I don't really like winning that much'

Lennert van Eetvelt has made a positive start to the Giro d’Italia and impressed on stage 2, following Jonas Vingegaard’s (Visma | Lease a Bike) acceleration on the Lyaskovets Monastery Pass, alongside Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

While they were caught inside the final kilometre, and he had to settle for 13th on the stage, it was a good indication of Van Eetvelt’s form and his ability to fight for success in this edition of the Giro.

"I don't think about it too much. I try to enjoy being in good form. Often, you only realise how good it was in hindsight. Right now, I try to enjoy it. Dropping is just boring; riding along is cool,” Van Eetvelt told Sporza ahead of stage 5. 

Van Eetvelt's performance is something which is much needed right now for Lotto-Intermarché, considering the team's current misfortune with illness.

Both Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) and Milan Menten (Lotto-Intermarché) have abandoned the race due to the illness they picked up following the Lotto Famenne Ardenne Classic, placing more emphasis on Van Eetvelt’s role as a leader within the team.         

However, Van Eetvelt isn’t placing extra pressure on his own shoulders to win. The Belgian emphasised the importance of enjoying racing over strictly chasing results. 

"I don't really like winning that much. I really enjoy racing, and I race to win, but winning itself is less important to me. But I don't like losing either, so then winning is the only option,” explained Van Eetvelt. “I try to get the best out of it and have fun racing."

This mentality highlights Van Eetvelt's focus on enjoying racing, and winning being a positive byproduct of a great performance.

After a strong showing on stage 2, Van Eetvelt also finished 7th in the reduced sprint finish on stage 4 to Cosenza, and currently sits 7th in the GC, just 10 seconds behind the maglia rosa currently held by Giulio Ciccone.