Robbe Dhondt showed that Develoment Team dsm-firmenich PostNL was very much still in the fight on the final stage of Circuit des Ardennes despite being down to just three riders. Dhondt made the day’s early breakaway of six riders which attacked one another from a long way out leaving him chasing with one other behind a lone leader in the final 50 kilometres.
Despite getting caught by the chasing peloton, Dhondt wasn’t finished as he put in another big attack with just over 20 kilometres to race. In the end it was in vain, but it capped a strong display from the young Belgian on the race’s final stage.
“It was another hard day around the Ardennes today, up and down all day,” commented Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Asbjørn Kragh Andersen after the finish. “We wanted to be a part of the race after a bit of a disappointing team performance yesterday. We did this, with Robbe getting in the breakaway and riding a really strong race at the front. Behind, Thom and Oliver were well positioned in the bunch riding in a good way. Coming into the final, Robbe was caught but actually managed to attack again from the bunch showing what a strong ride it was from him today. Thom and Oliver honestly didn’t have their best day but both fought through and did a good job. Overall, I’m happy about today and the boys developed during the race which was nice to see.”