Directly after the official start in Turnhout a barrage of attacks followed. Five riders eventually managed to get in the breakaway of the day. They were caught at about 12 kilometres from the finish in Beringen. The sprint trains, including that of Team Jumbo-Visma, then formed at the head of the bunch.

“During the meeting this morning we discussed that Olav and I had to be well placed in the last one and a half kilometres”, Groenewegen said. “That worked out well. The team really put me in a good position. When I entered the sprint, I felt very strong. I was convinced that winning was possible, but it was a shame that I had problems with my derailleur. On the other hand, it is encouraging that I was in the right position again. I’m going home with a good feeling”, said the sprinter, who will now prepare for the Dutch championships next Sunday.

“I look back on this race with mixed feelings”, sports director Maarten Wynants said. “We wanted to go for a stage win, but unfortunately that didn’t work out. Today it looked really good for a long time. Unfortunately, due to technical problems, it just didn’t work out.”

Bouwman also rounded up the past five days. “I was very satisfied with my time trial. In the opening stage I had a problem in the final, so I could not play an important role. The legs felt good all week. Then it’s a pity I couldn’t really race in the Ardennes stage yesterday. The final classification was not our goal, but it is a good thing that we finished with two riders high in the classification.”