ProTeam Andreas Kron honours Tijl De Decker with stage win in Vuelta

Lotto Dstny rider Andreas Kron has taken an emotional stage win at La Vuelta. In a soaking wet stage starting in Mataro and finishing in Barcelona, the time for the general classification was recorded nine kilometres before the finish due to safety reasons. Afterwards, the battle for the stage win commenced and Lotto Dstny made its ambitions clear. It was Andreas Kron who placed a fierce attack on the steep slopes towards Montjuic, pushed all the way to the finish and soloed to victory.

Crossing the finish line, Kron pointed to the sky as the Dane dedicated his first stage win in a Grand Tour to teammate Tijl De Decker, who lost his life last Friday after suffering the consequences of a collision on training. "The bad weather conditions made for a difficult and dangerous day on the bike but already this morning I believed in this victory. With the wet roads and also the neutralisation, there would be chances and personally I have worked tremendously hard towards this Vuelta. I had to miss out on the Tour and to come back at this level, with a first stage win in a Grand Tour, means a lot to me. I always said I would dedicate my first win in a Grand Tour to my late mother, but the team is going through a very difficult period at the moment, so I would really like to dedicate this win to Tijl De Decker. My mum will have to wait a bit more, but that second win will hopefully come soon," Kron reacted.

Image: Photo News.