Leukemans sorry to end Tour early
Vacansoleil rider was “empty” on Alpine stages
Bjorn Leukemans has finished his first and most likely last Tour de France. The Vacansoleil-DCM rider missed the time limit on Friday's stage which finished atop the Alpe d'Huez, crossing the line over half an hour behind winner Pierre Rolland of Europcar.
The gruppetto containing green jersey Mark Cavendish, amongst others, finished outside the time limit on the past two stages, but the race jury allowed them to stay in the race.
However, on Friday, the jury was not as merciful to Leukemans, who finished nearly eight minutes over the limit, while the gruppetto was only 20 seconds down.
"Sorry, but unfortunately it ends here," said Leukemans, according to Sportwereld. be. "Today I had my worst day of this race. Right from the first climb I was alone. I saw a group of twenty riders ahead of me, but I couldn't catch up.
“With Contador going so fast and my very bad legs, it was basically the start of an impossible thing. Once I was alone, I knew enough. The vessel was empty. "
Leukemans had previously said that he did not want to ride the Tour again, as it did not suit his abilities.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
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