Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s  riders finished in the bunch in the second stage of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, but their thoughts were with those involved in the Brussels attacks. Robert Gesink placed 24^th in the stage won by Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis).

“I took a look at my phone several times to see if there was some more news about what happened in Belgium,” Sports Director Addy Engels said after the stage. “The news impacted us, of course, both before and after the stage. Thankfully, they just got on with their jobs during the race.”

Quite easy
The stage ended up in a bunch sprint. No less than 164 riders finished in the same time, including all the Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s riders. “It went uphill during the final, but it definitely wasn’t a real climb,” Engels continued. “The road was wide and it wasn’t steep at all, so there wasn’t space to make a difference. It was quite easy today. Our most important task was to bring Robert Gesink in front of the peloton. He was together with Bert-Jan Lindeman, and it went smoothly. Also yesterday.”

La Molina
The team turned its attention to Wednesday’s stage. “The upcoming two days will be decisive for the general classification,” Engels added. “We’re in a good place with Robert Gesink and that gives us a good feeling about tomorrow, when we finish on La Molina. That final climb isn’t spectacular. I’m expecting some differences tomorrow, but probably the biggest gaps will happen on Thursday.”