This weekend  the 4th edition of the World Ports Classic was held, a two-stage race near the North Sea in windy conditions in the Netherlands. Initially, Cofidis was built around Nacer Bouhanni who had two opportunities to win and was supported by a strong group.

On the first stage, echelons blew the peloton into several pieces, unfortunately just as Bouhanni had stopped at the roadside to tighten his front wheel. He was in a group behind without being able to participate in the final sprint. Only 80 riders competed for the win which was taken by Guardini. ForCofidis, Geoffrey Soupe finished 14th just ahead of Michael Van Staeyen in 16th.

For the next day the two riders were in the best position to achieve a top 10 overall. 5 riders took the lead in the second stage where almost no wind favored a bunch sprint. However, a crash occurred 4km from the finish and slowed down most of the peloton, prventing Bouhanni from doing the sprint. Van Staeyen was able to get through the chaso and do the sprint in the company of 15 other riders. He finished 5th behind Boeckmans, stage and overall winner. Van Staeyen managed to take 9th overall but the team expected more from this race.