3 Days of De Panne: Joost takes 2nd

Joost Posthuma took second place overall in the mid-week Belgian bike race, Driedaagse De Panne. It was an amazing achievement for him. The riders who took the first three stages are among the best in the world. He arrived well to the front in the first stage, but lost almost a minute in the second. In the third stage this morning he lost more time when he got caught in a crash near the finish. However, Joost is a time trial specialist and he was able to make up what he'd lost in the final TT stage this afternoon. At the end, his position in the general classification was only 19 seconds behind the winner, Frederik Willems.

{Joost is on the right; his team mate,
Tom Leezer, took third; photo from his team}

There's a good interview with him (in Dutch) on the team's home page: Na de 2e plaats in 2007 en de 1e in 2008 wordt Joost Posthuma dit jaar 2e in de 3Daagse De Panne.. He says he's happy to have finished second today after having placed first last year and second the year before. The competition was greater than ever before and, although Willems edged him out, he beat Manuel Quinziato this year just as he did last year. (Quinziato ended up in fourth place.) Asked whether he's a threat at the most famous of the spring classics this weekend (the Ronde van Vlaanderen), he said the favorites are in great form and he sees himself a notch below them; still, anything can happen in a major race like that.

Cycling News has a wrap-up in English: 33rd KBC-Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde