In typically cloudy and chilly conditions, the Race to the Sun got underway this Sunday afternoon, as the peloton rolled out of Les Mureaux. It was a steady start to affairs with a three rider break going clear and with all Team dsm-firmenich PostNL riders in the bunch, focus remained on staying safe and conserving energy for the tricky finale. As the kilometres ticked by the breakaway was already caught by 30 kilometres to go but things remained calm in the bunch. That was until they hit the climb with bonus seconds where some GC favourites upped the pace and that tempo remained over the final classified climb. After some good positioning work by the time and combined with strong legs, Nils Eekhoff made it into the reduced bunch that would go on to fight for the win. Moving up well in the group, Eekhoff showed some power on the uphill drag to the line to kick hard and take a fine fourth place on the day.
After the stage Eekhoff explained: “In the final it was really hard and I was pretty on the limit after the last two climbs. It was chaotic within the group but I think I made the best of it coming into the finish. Fourth is a solid result but I am always hungry for more and for sure we will aim for even better results in the coming days as a team.”
