The ZLM Tour started on Wednesday evening with a prologue of more than six kilometres on a local circuit around Heinkenszand in Zeeland. Van Emden was virtually on the podium at the halfway point. The 38-year-old rider eventually finished eighth. Tim van Dijke, encouraged by family and friends on his training roads, did even better than Van Emden and finished seventh fastest. “It was a good lap. I gave it my all. I’m happy with how things turned out, but I would have liked to finish a little higher”, the Dutchman said.

Reigning champion Kooij was the last to leave the podium. The sprinter stated he would focus on the final classification again this year. “It will be hard to beat last year’s three stage wins and overall win, but we will start with ambition again. Hopefully, I can start the week well with a strong prologue and an eye on the general classification.”

That worked out quite well. Kooij was third fastest and just one second short of another victory in the Dutch stage race. “It was short but powerful today. Overcoming that I lost by one second is hard, but we can be satisfied. I took time on most of the sprinters, which is good. It’s a great start to the week”, Kooij said.