Cycling: Felipe Orts takes the podium with Van der Poel in his most emotional success after the death of a family member: “It was impossible not to cry”

Felipe Orts was one of the big names of this Friday. The Spaniard got on the podium of the Exact Cross de Loenhout (Belgium) after overtaking Ryan Kamp in the final stretch. Thanks to that gesture he was able to take a photo in the drawer next to a star like Van der Poel.

“I’m very tired. It has been a very hard and fought race from start to finish. I had the box within reach, but on the last lap it seemed to slip away.. But I was able to achieve it and I have that photo on the podium with the almighty Van der Poel,” the runner said this Friday in BRAND Radio.

It was a slow-planned success: “I was feeling very good. I have planned the season well. I had a break before the Christmas tour which has given me a little more point. In Antwerp, which was bad for me, I did well. Today was the day to look for legs. I played the strategy well. In the last lap it seemed like they had more strength, but I was able to overtake the rival on the finish line. I was suffering a lot, I thought I had lost him. But on the finish line I saw that it was going better. “I was faster and I was able to celebrate that position in the box.”

Furthermore, this success comes at a very special time. “I had a pretty close loss. They have been sad days, not being close to your family at home… this is what professional sports have. I was quite devastated not being able to be with them. At least, within a bad day , there is a ray of joy. I have been able to talk to the family and it has arrived there, but they are still in a difficult moment and they are more about their own thing than mine… I understand it. For my part, I have remembered a lot of them when I crossed the finish line. That feeling came. It was impossible to prevent some tears from escaping. It’s something human. Everyone was pushing me to get the podium, one of them was him from above,” confirmed the Spanish star.

Adapted to all disciplines

Orts, who will be racing for his own team starting in January, wants to improve any aspect of his preparation to continue growing. “I have always had my sights set on cyclocross, so I have adapted the road to the CX. That is why I have never competed one hundred percent with its preseason etc., that is why starting in January I am launching my new team (the Forts Team). . “To be able to do more similar workouts and have one hundred percent of my characteristics,” he said from the other side of the phone.

Now he has to face a calendar full of special tests, the first this Saturday. “Hulst is good for me, last year it was 7. It suits me well. I am in a much better level of fitness than other years. I want to recover well, for this Saturday I will be up to par. On day 1 we debuted colors with my new team and in Baal, which is close to home. So there are a lot of things left to do on this Christmas tour,” he concluded.