The first stage of the Tour de Yorkshire didn’t end up in a successful story for Team LottoNL-Jumbo. A crash just before the finale of the race was the reason that Steven Kruijswijk and Timo Roosen weren’t able to participate in the front. Nordhaug (Team Sky) became the stage winner.

“We were unlucky again”, sports director Nico Verhoeven sighed after the first stage of the Tour de Yorkshire. “In the end of the race, the field was quit split up already. At that moment we were in the big first group with five riders, but afterwards Steven and Timo crashed. They took the turn the way they should, but they were collided from behind by someone who didn’t. When you look at the race today, Steven was our best man. To lose him in a way like that, is very annoying.”

To anticipate
Short after the crash, the peloton broke up in peaces even more. A group of fifteen riders caught the early breakaway and opened the finale. Mike Teunissen was a part of that group for a long time. “It was good that we had someone in the lead”, Verhoeven judged. “The last climb wasn’t an easy one. The strongest riders putted op the pace.” “I felt a little worse even before that moment”, Teunissen added. “It was a hard day and when Timo and Steven fell behind, we were only with three in the front. I tried to anticipate on the last hills of the day, but I wasn’t able to survive the final one.”

Bunch sprint
The second stage of the Tour de Yorkshire should be the one in which Moreno Hofland’s chances are the best. “The challenge for us is to make sure that the stage will end up in a bunch sprint”, Verhoeven appointed. “We have to see what’s the best way to enforce that. We’re going to anticipate on the way the race turns out. Being part of the early breakaway is maybe a possibility. The young riders will get their chance to be there."