The penultimate day of racing at Renewi Tour saw Team dsm-firmenich PostNL start the day with four riders, after Alex Edmondson was a DNS due to the effects of his crash from the opening day. The bad luck for the team continued, as Fabio Jakobsen was involved in a crash early in the day when the battle for position was intense due to the crosswinds, and despite continuing for a while, he too would ultimately step off the bike.
As a result, it left just Timo Roosen, Frank van den Broek and Bram Welten within the peloton for the team, who looked to keep Van den Broek safe ahead of Sunday’s expected GC battle, while also then changing plans to go with Welten for the sprint finish. With a new break going clear at around 80 kilometres to go, things were relatively controlled and the peloton made the catch within the final kilometres. There the Team dsm-firmenich PostNL trio kept each other safe through the tree kilometre to go mark, before the pace drastically increased as the sprint finale loomed large. Using his good positioning skills as a lead-out rider, Welten navigated the chaos on the technical and twisting roads, finding a good spot through the numerous turns and into the final straight. Giving it his all in the gallop to the line, Welten held on for a strong fifth place come the line; his first ever WorldTour level top five result.
Speaking after the stage Welten expressed: “Our original goal was to go for it with Fabio but of course we had to change our plan after he stopped the race. Me, Frank and Timo looked after each other well for the rest of the day. In final I could position myself really well and stayed out of danger. Then in the last straight I just went full for it in the sprint. I’m really happy to get my first WorldTour level top five. It’s not over until it’s over.”