Team LottoNL-Jumbo finished ninth today in the stage nine team time trial of the Tour de France. Robert Gesink and his team-mates completed the 28-kilometre course between Vannes and Plumelec in 33 minutes and 29 seconds.

The stage was won by BMC, in 32-15. Chris Froome retained the yellow jersey. Gesink is now 15th overall.

“I think we did fairly well, although I had hoped for a slightly better result. We made a few mistakes,” Gesink said, referring to Bram Tankink and Laurens ten Dam being dropped early on in the TTT.

“Laurens made an error with his levers. He feels embarrassed, but I know all the guys on the team for a long time and I know that we always try to help each other as well as we can. Of course, I’d preferred not to lose one minute and 14 seconds, but we are heading into the mountains now and there’s a lot of time to win there. Laurens already promised me that he will do his utmost best for me in the final two weeks.”

Sep Vanmarcke

“We had expected a lot of this TTT,” Sep Vanmarcke said. “Especially, since all of us did well in the prologue. Because of circumstances, it wasn’t perfect today, unfortunately. The cooperation was spot-on, though. Therefore we were able to limit the damage.”                  

Nico Verhoeven

Nico Verhoeven admitted that the team time trial did not start perfectly. “But the second half was a lot better. Our last five riders were able keep pace on the final climb and so we hardly lost any time there. Wilco was having some problems with his back during the recon ride this morning, but I think he rode very strong in the end. That’s a hopeful sign looking forward to the remainder of the Tour.”

Jos van Emden

Jos van Emden explained how important it is to ride with a complete team for as long as possible. “During a team time trial, each rider has his value. Every second that someone rides in the front, means time to recover for the others. I’m looking forward to some rest by the way. The first nine days were exhausting. Tomorrow’s rest day is well-timed.”