Van Baarle leads attacking performance

 

Ian Stannard put in a battling performance, forcing his way into two groups as the race began to take chance. Alongside teammate Chris Lawless he bridged across to a group of attackers on the Leberg climb, forming part of a dangerous looking lead group.

 

Yet the move could not build a stable gap and were caught with 64km to go. Undeterred, Stannard was able rise to the fore after the Molenberg, as the cobbled climb forced a major selection. 

 

With the race coming back together once more, Owain Doull and Van Baarle buried themselves in a bid to pull back the move containing Stybar and the lead contenders. The tantalising gap could not be hauled back, leaving Stybar to take his winning opportunity.

Reaction

- Ian Stannard

"I felt good on the bike and the team rode really well today. I just got a bit carried away a bit too early really. That kind of cost me in the final but there are a lot of positives to take away from it.

"I felt good out there and I’m really happy with where I’m at. I just need to calm down in the race a bit and wait for the final. There are still quite a few weeks ahead to the next group of races so I’ll get back to training and I’ll look to push on."

- Servais Knaven

"As a team they did a really good ride. We really never missed an important move during the day. We had Yogi and Chris up there after 120km or so and then it was good to have Yogi up there after the Molenberg. Dylan came into the picture towards the final. He just didn't quite have the legs to get across to those strongest five guys.

"It was tough because Dylan crashed earlier in the race, just before the crucial part. He still managed to make it back towards the front, so without that and on another day he could have maybe made the front group."