Having arrived with an overall win in the World Ports Classic fresh in his legs, Theo Bos had plenty of confidence heading into the Tour of Belgium. For the second day in a row, however, he had to settle for third behind Tom Boonen and the Dutchman admitted that the stage winner had been in a class of his own.

Today’s Baloise Belgium Tour results looked similar to yesterday’s. Like stage one, the Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM led out well, but Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) beat Theo Bos again in the bunch kick. On Knokke-Heist Boulevard, the Dutchman finished third – just like a day before. Boonen’s team-mate Gert Steegmans placed second.

“There was nothing off with the team’s performance, I was perfectly positioned,” Bos said, “but Boonen was in a class of his own.”
 

Michiel Elijzen could only be satisfied afterwards as the team did nothing wrong. “Theo and the team cannot blame themselves for anything,” said the sports director.

“Everything went according to plan. We only suffered a minor setback when Graeme Brown punctured in the final kilometre. Normally, he’s the last lead-out man. Graeme is a rider who can surprise the competition with an impulsive move, especially on a slightly uphill arrival as today’s finish.”
 

Bos now sits second overall. He will probably drop in the general classification on Friday as the riders take on a 16.7-kilometre race against the clock. The time trial starts and finishes in Diksmuide.

“We’ll head to Diksmuide early in the morning so that everyone has the opportunity to get used to the course,” said Elijzen. “It’s flat and not very technical. We’ll aim for a top-ten finish with Bram Tankink and Maarten Wynants, they are our GC riders. A place in the first ten would be great as there are many good time trialists here.”