Tuft 4th in Dreidaagse Van West-Vlaanderen

Svein Tuft of Team Spidertech p/b C10 came a fraction of a second short of a podium spot at the Dreidaagse Van West-Vlaanderen Friday.

Tuft went into the 7-km prologue unsure of his form after a recent bout of the flu, but he needn’t have worried, posting a solid time of 8 minutes and 24 seconds, 10 seconds behind New Zealander Jesse Sergent of Team Radioshack. Tuft was credited with the same time as two other Radioshack riders —  Belgian Sebastien Rosseler and another Kiwi, Sam Bewley — but the commissaires used the electronic timing system to split the three-way tie.

“I’m really happy with my ride. I’m just lacking a bit of speed – that you only get from racing,” said Tuft after the race. “The Giro Sardinia race (last week) was great, but it was such a tough race I didn’t develop that speed. It was good engine building.”

The Radioshack sweep is, in a way, good news for Spidertech: They will have second spot in the team car caravan for Saturday’s stage, which will take the riders 175 km from Brugge to Bellegem. That’s a big advantage on the narrow, cobbled Belgian roads.

The three-day race wraps up Sunday.