Belkin desperately tried to make the race hard for Tim Wellens in the final stage of the Eneco Tour but Lars Boom was unable to shake off his rival and had to settle for the overall second place. Having matched the best climbers in yesterday's stage in the Ardennes, however, the Dutchman regards the result as a milestone in his career.

Lars Boom ended the Eneco Tour on Sunday second in the overall classification. The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM tried to put race leader Tim Wellens under pressure in the final stage, but the young Belgian Lotto-Belisol proved to be a tough nut to crack. Giant-Shimano’s Tom Dumoulin placed third overall.

Belgian Guillaume Van Keirsbulck of Omega Pharma-QuickStep won the final stage, a mini version of the Amstel Gold Race finishing in Sittard, The Netherlands.

“Tim was the strongest and deserved to win,” said Boom. “I’m satisfied, however. I have had a super Eneco Tour. I felt good every day of the race. It was a beautiful week. Last year, I had a weak day in the Ardennes, but yesterday, I finished second there. I’m very happy with that. You could say that this is a new milestone in my career.”
 

Boom thanked his team-mates after the hectic final stage. Just like they’d done all week, they gave everything they had for their leader on Sunday.

“We were in Limburg today and the narrow roads made it very nervous. The boys rode super-fast to put Wellens under pressure. In the final, Greg Van Avermaet was early with an attack and I had to jump to get back in his wheel. That was a pity."

Merijn Zeeman praised the riders, as well.

“I’m very proud of our achievements, our team spirit and the way we fought for the overall win. We did what we could, but unfortunately it wasn't in the cards for us today. We believed that we could make Wellens’ seven-second lead go away. We did everything to force something, but had to do it alone. That made it tough, although it would have been extra nice if we had succeeded.”

Boom is still full of ambition for the remainder of the season.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll go for a swim with my daughters. After that I’m scheduled to ride Hamburg, Plouay, the Tour of Britain and hopefully the Worlds. I’ve shown that I still have the desire to race and that my motivation is huge.”