Barry Markus finished second in Dwars door Drenthe after starting his sprint late and making a strong surge in the last 100 metres.     

“A lot was happening in today’s race,” sports director, Frans Maassen said. “A leading group of ten men went free in the beginning of the stage. We had Timo Roosen in that leading group, and it was good that he was there. After that, four riders  joined the breakaway, and we should have been there too, but we weren’t. That was a mistake.     “Another big group broke away later. We had only Nick van der Lijke with that group of 20 leaders. That was not enough. Mike Teunissen tried to reach the leaders too, but he got a puncture during his chase. Instead, we worked with some other teams who wanted to close the gap and we decided to go for Barry Markus’ chances.”     

It became a bunch sprint in Drenthe and Markus, though first seeming out of the picture, fired. “I was a little too much on the outside,” the Dutchman explained. “As a result, I was only able to sprint in the last 100 metres. Fortunately, that was enough to for second place. Immediately after the finish, I was very fed up I didn’t win, but now, I feel satisfied all the same.”     

It was good for Markus to grab a good result after a long period with little success in the sprints. His top form appears to be returning after some tough races in the Ardèche.     “You have to do some tough races to gain some hardness,” he explained. “That pays off on moments like this. This second place gives me a lot of confidence.”