Stewart savours Flanders experience

Despite not finishing his first attempt at the Tour of Flanders, BMC Racing rider Jackson Stewart says he enjoyed the experience of racing in the cycling hotbed that is northern Belgium.

The 29-year-old Los Gatos native endured a fairly torrid race on Sunday, although he knows it's all part and parcel of the Flanders experience.

"I just had a few tingles myself - I went off the road once and I got [caught] in a crack once... both times I was chasing back on and I got caught behind two crashes all around the same time and then it came down to the legs," said Stewart.

"I couldn't close the gaps, so soon I was out of the [convoy] cars."

Stewart is a relative newcomer to European racing, although the former Kodakgallery.com-Sierra Nevada team member is one of BMC Racing's maintstays - he rode for the squad when it was a Continental team racing in the US. It's his fourth season with the outfit and with its elevation to Professional Continental status he now gets to ride some of the world's biggest events.

Personal bad luck aside however, Stewart savoured the experience at a significant race. "It was pretty exciting. I wanted a little more from it but it was pretty exciting and it was good to see the team ride really well," he said.

"It's gotta be the biggest race I've done in Europe; the number of spectators, the hype behind it and how excited everyone is to watch it is something I've never seen before."

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1