Quebec’s Duchesne at the Tour of Flanders

In yesterday’s Tour of Flanders, Antoine Duchense put in a strong performance for his Europcar team. The 22 year-old Quebecois began the race hoping to make the early breakaway but didn’t quite have the legs to make the selection.

“The race started really fast,” said Duchene. “There were almost no off-moments. I was not on a super day, and if you’re not 100 per cent in a race like that, it is really hard to make the move.”

With the breakaway up the road, Duchense turned his efforts to protecting Europcar’s captains, Vincent Jerome and Alexandre Pinchot.

“I worked really hard to keep them well positioned and out of trouble. When Vincent Jerome crashed, I had to make a big effort to bring him back. After that, it was pretty much downhill for me. I was stuck at the back and couldn’t move up anymore so I was caught in every crash. Then, before the Oude Kwaremount I dropped my chain and had to go back into the cars.”

Duchense fought to stay in the race, but by the time he reached the Oude Kwaremount for the second time, after 205km, it was clear that his Ronde was finished, his job well done.

Reflecting after the race, the scale of the Tour of Flanders really hit home.

“It was amazing at the start in Brugge with thousands of people cheering. Even compared with Wevelegem and Harelbeck, there were so many people all over the course. I am really happy to do these races as a first year.”

Next, Duchense is looking forward to the Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix. He can certainly count on Canadians to be riveted to their TV screens, cheering him on, back home.