The final stage of the Three Days of West Flanders was a typical Belgian race, including climbs and cobblestone sectors. After all attacks were neutralized on the final lap, the day was decided in a bunch sprint. Danny van Poppel (Trek) won ahead of Kris Boeckmans (Lotto - Soudal) and Michael van Staeyen (Cofidis). Jan Barta finished with the main field in 19th place. Barta scored a bonus second at the intermediate sprint. But this second wasn’t quite enough to reach the podium spot of the Belgian short race. The 30-year old Czech finished the race in fourth place in the general classification – less than a second behind the third rank.

“As promised, the guys rode really actively and they gave it all to fight for the podium. Jan secured an important bonus second at the first intermediate sprint. And we helped to chase down the leading group on the final lap, so we could secure Jan’s fourth place. The guys did a top job but the chase left them without energy for the final sprint. With Phil [Bauhaus] and Michael [Schwarzmann] both our sprinters had to abandon earlier due to crashes and mechanicals. It’s a pity to miss the podium by a fraction of a second. But with the third place in the prologue and the fourth place overall with that minimal gap, our trend is upwards. This makes us optimistic for the upcoming classics“, Sport Director Andre Schulze concludes the stage race.