Seeldraeyers wins more than jersey

When Quick Step's Kevin Seeldraeyers took over the best young rider classification in the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday, he won more than just the white jersey – he also won a fiancee. After the stage he made a public proposal to Ellen Joos, who accepted.

"I didn't know what happened. At seven in the morning I started receiving congratulatory text messages from friends. At the same time Kevin called to ask whether I had seen the newspaper," Joos told Sportwereld.be.

She was pleased by the form of the proposal, saying she found it "very original" and "typical of Kevin. I don't think any other rider would do it that way."

Seeldraeyers and Joos plan to visit a jeweller on Monday to pick out an engagement ring, and he plans to repeat the proposal "officially".

Meanwhile, the 22-year-old still has four more Giro stages to face. He was happy with his Blockhaus stage, even though second-ranked Francesco Masciarelli made up over two minutes on him.

"I handled the race as well as I could without panic, trying to leverage the advantage I have in the standings over Masciarelli," the Belgian said. "I think with him it's going to be a race to the very last stage to see who will win the white jersey.

"However, I'm quite satisfied. Today was another positive step towards the final finish line in Rome."