The Tour of Belgium started on the 27th of May in Bornem with a 6,85 kilometre prologue. Wanty-Groupe Gobert lined up the following riders for this five-day stage race: Bjorn Leukemans, Roy Jans, Danilo Napolitano, Frederik Backaert, James Vanlandschoot, Frederik Veuchelen, Tim De Troyer and Tom Devriendt.

The parcours was varied with a sprinter's stage to Knokke-Heist on Thursday. Roy Jans sprinted to a seventh place on the "Wandelaar' sloping finish. It was Roy's 15th top ten place of the season already. 

The second stage to Herzele offered the peloton the Leberg, Valkenberg and Berendries: well-known climbs from the Flemish Spring Classics. Frederik Backaert, born and raised in this region, showed himself in this stage but also Bjorn Leukemans tried his luck in the final. He attacked with three other riders but Etixx-Quickstep wouldn't let this happen and brought Bjorn and the other three riders back. In the day's result Backaert was the best rider for Wanty-Groupe Gobert. He came in 20th.

After the Flemish climbs, the peloton moved to the east of the country. The stage to Lacs de l’Eau D’Heure, also the site of the Belgian national championships next season, was tough but not tough enough. The bunch controlled it well. 

“Roy Jans was part of the day's breakaway," sports director Hilaire Van Der Schueren explains. “In the final a group attacks with some big names in it like Greg Van Avermaet but also Frederik Backaert. Etixx-Quickstep had no one in that group and therefore brought them back." 

What followed was a long, stretched out sprint where Danilo Napolitano finished eighth. The Italian felt himself that more would have been possible that day. With Leukemans in 11th, Vanlandschoot in 18th and Backaert in 23rd place, Wanty-Groupe Gobert showed strength in numbers. 

The overall classification would be defined in the last stage on Sunday with start and finish in Sankt Vith. It was a mini-Liège-Bastogne-Liège with well known climbs like the Haute-Levée, Wanne and Stockeu.

“On the Côte de Spineux, at just 30 kilometres from the line, James (Vanlandschoot) and Fre (Veuchelen) brought me to the front. It was something they had done all day for me. It was a tough final and those climbs were a bit too steep for me. After the descent, just before the Stockeu, I managed to return to the front of the race but on the Stockeu I was dropped again," Backaert said. He finished 14th in the stage which resulted in a great tenth place in the overall classification in the Tour of Belgium.

“Before the race I had hoped for a top ten. That I reached my goal makes me happy. I am content with my current form and hope to keep it in the Tour de Suisse and the Tour of Austria."