Vlad Van Mechelen 3rd at windy edition of Ster van Zwolle

Development Team dsm-firmenich PostNL took on their first race on home soil on Saturday afternoon, at the Ster van Zwolle. It was a race plagued by strong winds, with the team making the front echelons before it became a race of attrition. In the end, Vlad Van Mechelen was the last survivor from the team in the front group, sprinting to a strong third place on the day.

Rolling out from the start in Zwolle, the Development program set out with the first main aim of riding well as a unit in what is often a hectic race. Doing just that, they were well placed for the important moments and eventually the race split with around 100 kilometres to go where the team had four riders in the front, but unfortunately Frank Aron Ragilo crashed out of the group. Things then slowly whittled down over the following hours, with Johan Dorussen and Benjamin Peatfield just getting shipped from the first echelon at around 30 kilometres to go. Ahead, Van Mechelen rode a strong but mature ride and when the eventual race winning attack was made; it was clear that the other 11 riders in the front would be fighting for the minor steps of the podium. Attentive when things opened up, Van Mechelen hit the front from far with Dehairs just coming around him in the finale, with the Development Team dsm-firmenich PostNL rider taking third place at the line.

Van Mechelen said: “Zwolle is always super nervous and hectic. We constantly had to be ready for echelons. The boys were there when it happened so at one point we were with four in the first group. Unfortunately Frank crashed out but the teamwork was top notch today. As we went deeper into the final the group kept getting smaller due to the high pace on the crosswind sections. In the final group I was outnumbered by TDT and one of their riders went solo. The cooperation in the chase group was not good so we knew I had to shift my focus on getting a podium spot in the sprint. I’m really glad it worked out with third.”

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Joey van Rhee added: “From the start we were all really motivated for it today. After 50 kilometres the first split happened and we had four guys in a front group of around 30, but unfortunately Frank then crashed out of it. We had three guys left in it and it was the group which rode for the win in the end. We had a key point towards the final where we knew that we had to be in the front because of the crosswinds. Vlad was doing a really good job there, turning in the bunch, but at that moment Ben and Johan were just a bit too far back and caught on the other side of the split. It meant Vlad was the only one left for us in the front but he rode a really solid race. In the final there was one guy who attacked and no one reacted or could even close the gap to him. Vlad then managed to get up for third in the sprint so we have a nice result today. I think we can be proud of our teamwork and how we raced today in a hectic race, especially with it being the first time racing together as a group. I’m proud of the guys and this is a good starting point ahead of the next races.”