Casper Van Uden was our fastest finisher, with a top 20 after a hectic battle in Belgium. With an early breakaway caught with 60 kilometres of racing left, the final quarter of the race was fraught with attacks and counter-attacks as several key riders tried to make their move. Initially contributing to the chase, Pavel Bittner found himself with an advantage of 20 seconds until an unfortunately timed puncture put an end to his efforts. John Degenkolb and Van Uden, safely at the front of the race, only had to navigate through the final cobbled sector before preparing for the final sprint. More attacks flew, however, and the fight had taken its toll in the legs, with Van Uden finishing in the first group on the road.
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach, Pim Ligthart saw good potential in the teamwork on display, “We had a fair bit of bad luck with several bike and wheel changes, but the boys kept fighting and were really committed. They also found each other in the final but there was just nothing left in the legs so no result today but we can be happy with the teamwork that we’ve seen over the whole opening weekend. We’ll take the positives and bring them to the next races.”