“We rode a good race as a team”, said Groenewegen, who competed as a guest rider with the Development Team. “We were always in control. Unfortunately, we lost Owen Geleijn and Hidde van Veenendaal due to crashes. I crashed as well, and as a result I got quite far behind. Fortunately, the team brought me back into position. In the final, Rick Pluimers was very good in the local laps. When that group was caught, we rode fast, but we couldn’t catch the leader anymore. In the sprint, I was stuck for a moment and the number two created a gap. In the end we rode a mature and good race.”

Sports director Sierk Jan de Haan was pleased with the team’s performance. “It was a tough day today, a real knockout race. It was cold at the start and the wind came into play as the race went on. That made it nervous towards the cobbled sections, and the first section caused some crashes. Unfortunately, Hidde and Owen were the first to crash, but they are okay. It made us switch gears a bit. We could ride the final with the four remaining guys. We tried to play Dylan, but one man stayed ahead. He was very strong. Dylan finished on the podium and we could compete in the final, so we can head into the winter with a good feeling.”