The Belkin Pro Cycling Team was not able to battle for the victory in the GP Impanis - Van Petegem, which was won by Greg Van Avermaet (BMC). Early in the 195.8- kilometre race, a group of 10 riders took off without the green and blacks of Team Belkin.

"In the first escape of the day, we were well represented with Jetse Bol and Sep Vanmarcke but Team Trek closed the gap," Sports Director Frans Maassen said after the finish. "When the peloton came back, there was immediately a new attack, the decisive break-away , and we missed it. It was annoying that the strong teams were well-represented in front and we lost control of race.”

The leading group of 10 riders got a nice lead, but in the final, the peloton, partly due to the work of Maarten Wynants and Sep Vanmarcke, came closer.

"At the moment the lead of the 10 leaders had whittled down to two minutes, the counter-attack came." Maassen continued. "We had to be there, but again we missed the attack of eight riders because Wynants and Vanmarcke worked hard at the front. So it was not such a successful day for us. We missed two crucial attacks because of two tactical mistakes. We came to the start with a very strong team on paper, but tactically it all went differently. But hey, that’s racing too. I also saw some positive points: Jetse rode well, Moreno Hofland was fine and so was Theo Bos."

Next Sunday, Sep Vanmarcke will start in one of his highlights this season, the World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain. Vanmarcke , who won the GP Impanis Van Petegem last year, took his defeat and shifted the focus directly to the Worlds. After a hard race of 195.8 kilometres , he’s ready for some extra suffering on the bike.

"Sep rode very well. He trained the day before yesterday and the day before that very hard and long. He still felt that a bit in his legs today. He put behind his ride today and shifted his focus towards the Worlds already. Sep will train two extra hours after the race together with his brother. You need those extra kilometres in your legs before the Worlds. They will ride for two hours maybe a little longer after the race.”