Moreno Hofland finished third in the first stage of the Tour of Denmark today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprinter won the kick of the first chasing group. Stage winner Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff) and Mads Würtz Schmidt (Virtu Pro Veloconcept) managed to stay in front of the group.

“It’s our mistake that those two riders were able to stay in front actually,” Sports Director Jan Boven said. The peloton split into echelons during the first stage of the Tour of Denmark and Team LottoNL-Jumbo lacked a rider in the six-man first group. “We rode a superb stage, but a bad final part of it, and that’s the most important thing. We were too far behind when four riders broke away out of the leading group. We knew that we had to stay focussed and that we shouldn’t let a Tinkoff rider escape. We failed and we weren’t strong enough to close the gap afterwards.”

Missed opportunity

That meant that Moreno Hofland wasn’t sprinting for the victory, but for the third place. “That is annoying,” Hofland said. “When you’re with six riders in the first echelon, the chance that you win the stage improves greatly. This is a missed opportunity. We messed up in the final part of the stage and I’m fed up with that. I definitely would’ve been close for the stage win, even though you never know if you could win or not.”

Mike Teunissen was part of a breakaway early in the stage and grabbed enough points to wear the mountains jersey on Thursday. Thursday’s stage has a similar profile. 

“We have to stay focussed,” Boven said. “We might sharpen our plan as the stage unfolds tomorrow.”