Tiesj Benoot finished on the second place in the final stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour, that’s also his place in the overall classification.

The last stage was a tough hilly stage with start and finish in Sankt-Vith. Gert Dockx and Jürgen Roelandts were part of an early breakaway of twenty-four, with some nice names. That group fell apart. Three riders remained in front, one of them was Jürgen Roelandts. With just over thirty kilometres to go the three were caught.

Then Tiesj Benoot came to the forefront. On the last climb he was in a front group with Egor Silin and Greg Van Avermaet. Van Avermaet attacked close to the finish line. Benoot still came close to his fellow countryman, but got second. That’s also the place he has in the overall classification, 41 seconds behind Van Avermaet. Thomas De Gendt rode a good finale as well and crossed the finish line as seventh.

“Our team rode well all day long," Benoot said. "Gert and Jürgen were part of an early breakaway. When Jürgen rode in front with two companions, I could stay relaxed in the peloton, because BMC had to pull. The teammates brought me into a good position for when the race broke loose in the peloton. I especially focused on Van Avermaet. He didn’t attack, so I took the initiative on the uphill part after the Stockeu. I didn’t get any support of the two riders that had joined me. Other riders bridged and with eight we started the last climb. There we got away with three.

“Silin didn’t cooperate with Greg and me. In the final I made a small mistake by not joining Van Avermaet when he attacked. I thought Silin would close the gap, but he couldn’t.  With my sprint I still came close to Van Avermaet. I still had something left in the finale and wanted to aim for the sprint. In the end it turns out I had the best sprint.

"At the moment I am disappointed, but I can be satisfied with my condition and my race. The GC was a goal, that second place is good. I’m ready for my next races: Dauphiné, European Games and Belgian Championships.”