Viacheslav Kuznetsov proved that he has the potential to become a great rider for the classics when he finished 11th overall in the Eneco Tour. The result marked a breakthrough for the young Russian on the WorldTour.

The final stage of the Eneco Tour on Sunday saw a solo victory go to Guillaume Van Keirsbulck of Omega Pharma – Quick-Step, escaping from a 20-man break that included Team Katusha’s Gatis Smukulis.

Sunday’s stage at 183km began in Riemst and finished in Sittard-Geleen.  It featured many of the same roads and climbs featured in the April classic of Amstel Gold. 

"Like yesterday we did what we had to do. With Smukulis we had someone in the break. It shows that all of our guys are in a good mood and eager to race. In the final Kuznetsov and Brutt were in the front again. In the end we did a good Eneco Tour. In every stage the Katusha riders showed their jersey at the front of the race. Also, 11th place of Viacheslav in GC is not bad result at all for young rider," said team director Torsten Schmidt. 

Joining Van Keirsbulck on the stage podium were his teammate Matteo Trentin and Yves Lampaert (Topsport Vlaanderen) at 46-seconds. Tim Wellens (Lotto-Belisol) took his first big win by securing the overall classification. His final margin was seven seconds over Lars Boom (Belkin) and 13-seconds to Tom Dumoulin of Giant-Shimano. 

Viacheslav Kuznetsov, who showed his power during the whole race, was close to a top 10 in the general classification, but finished 11th, 1.15 behind the overall winner.