Team LottoNL-Jumbo has finished a strong Tour of Flanders with the fourteenth place of Timo Roosen. Roosen was very strong and was able to compete with the favourites in the final. Only on the last climb of the Oude Kwaremont he wasn’t able to follow the group anymore. Pascal Eenkhoorn enlivened the race being in the breakaway of the day, in which Jos van Emden later joined them.

The classic, which took place on the famous Flemish cobbles and hills, was above all a very tough race due to the cold temperatures and the rain. Team LottoNL-Jumbo was very active and alert from the start and completed the race without any problems.

“The whole team was very active and alert from the start”, sports director Jan Boven said in his post-race comments. “The game plan was to continue the good form from Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen. Today, we wanted to show ourselves, and without a specific leader I think we did well. The boys helped each other perfectly and they were always in the front. Timo eventually finished fourteenth after a very strong race and he wasn’t far behind the group that battled for third place. Amund was in a group not far behind Timo. With Pascal and later also Jos present in the breakaway of the day, we showed ourselves in a positive way. The whole team was strong today.”

Roosen thought it was a very tough but beautiful day. “From the start it went full throttle and there was never a dull moment. Everyone was already starting to get tired when we weren’t even halfway through. I was feeling good and thought: now I have to keep riding and keep going. On the Kwaremont I didn’t have the power to follow the group and dropped. I had come here for a place in the top fifteen and I got it. I am very pleased with that. The feeling was good."

The man who enlivened the race was debutant Eenkhoorn. In his first big classic as a neo-pro he was in the front for over one hundred kilometre. “It was difficult to get away. The plan was to get Jos, Maarten or myself in the break. We all tried a few times but we had to wait for a long time before we got a decent gap. It was constantly full throttle, there never was an easy moment. I was feeling good and tried to keep the pace high on the climbs. The goal was to get in the breakaway and I succeeded. It was a beautiful day."

Video: Roosen after Tour of Flanders