On the flat course around Kapelle, Behrens posted a time of 24’34” which ultimately earned him 12th place. The time trial took the riders towards Wemeldinge and along the Zeeland coastline, with both the start and finish in Kapelle. Owain Doull, Loe van Belle and Henry Hobbs also finished inside the top 25. The stage victory ultimately went to Mathias Vacek of Lidl-Trek.

“It was a solid time trial from us as a team today,” sports director Arthur van Dongen reflects. “We didn’t have any real time trial specialists at the start. For an outstanding result, we would have needed a top-ten finish, but overall we rode a good time trial that gives us something to build on in the coming days.”

The upcoming stages through the Netherlands offer several opportunities for the yellow-and-black squad. Tomorrow’s stage through Zeeland, for example, could see the wind play a major role and potentially lead to echelons. The team can also count on several riders from the Development Team during the ZLM Tour. For them, this is their first experience racing alongside the professionals, giving them a valuable opportunity to gain experience and see how they fare in the coming stages.

Thursday sees the first road stage on the program, with the riders traveling from Westkapelle to Heinkenszand over 193.8 kilometers. The exposed Zeeland roads and the expected wind could make for an exciting day of racing.