The one-day race of 193 kilometres that started and ended in Bruges had a predictable start. After an hour, seven riders had the opportunity to ride away from the peloton and gain three minutes. At sixty kilometres from the finish, Pascal Eenkhoorn crashed. The Dutchman had to leave the race with several abrasions.

At thirty kilometres from the finish the peloton took control. The black-and-yellow formation stayed alert and was in the front after a shuffle. Led by the team of the later winner, the situation was rectified and the race ended in a bunch sprint in Bruges.

Groenewegen resigned himself to the tenth place afterwards. “The feeling was very good, but I prefer a bad feeling and winning here today than a good feeling and this result. Too bad we lost each other in the deep final. Hopefully that will go better next time. Now it’s time for good results. I have to hold on to this feeling. Then the results will follow.”

Sports director Jan Boven had mixed feelings. “A result doesn’t say everything, but in the end, we wanted to win the bunch sprint with Dylan. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. We were in a very good position until the last cobbled section. Finn did a great job at the front and everyone was focused. In the final laps, when the race exploded, we were present with all five riders. That was great. But a sprint race is all about the sprint and it didn’t go the way we wanted. You are judged on that. The team showed all day that they were well positioned at the important points. It is a pity that Pascal dropped out. With this young team we lacked his experience in the end.”