Sports director Frans Maassen indicates that the heavy crash during the opening stage affected his team. “That crash and its consequences are of course a nightmare. This hit both our riders and our staff members hard. We hope with all our heart that Fabio Jakobsen recovers well. That’s the most important thing for this moment. Of course I also hope that Dylan will be fine. He is having a very hard time with what happened. It hit us all enormously.”

The former rider continues: “I was happy to see that our team went on after that dramatic event. We kept ourself aloof in the peloton for a day and then we raced offensively again. Jonas can certainly be happy with his place in the top ten of the final classification. The fact that he competed well in this strong field of riders gives him a lot of morale for the following races. Today Jos van Emden went full speed again and our young talent Tobias Foss eventually finished in the top twenty during his World Tour debut. Those are the bright spots during this emotional week.”