Tom Dumoulin (Argos-Shimano) lost the overall lead at the Eneco Tour on today's final stage to Geraardsbergen despite fighting to the end and finishing eighth.
 
Dumoulin went into the stage with a slim nine-second advantage. It was always going to be a tough task with a testing parcours to cover but Dumoulin and his team-mates took up the challenge from the start, riding at the front of the peloton and marking their main rivals.
 
However, as the race headed into the final stages, Dumoulin couldn't follow when Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma – Quick Step) attacked on a tough ramp in the final five kilometres.
 
"Even if I am happy with second place, of course I feel some disappointment," said Dumoulin after the race commotion had died down. "Yesterday we fought hard for the lead and then to give it away on the last stage is quite hard.
 
“When Chavanel came back everything looked pretty good, we did what we had to do and everything was to plan. But I could really feel my legs so an attack was difficult to cover, and when it came I just couldn't follow.
 
“I am really happy about my progression though, to be at this level now is the result of hard work and of course the work of the team. I hope to grow into a rider for these kind of races and I will certainly be back to battle again for the victory."
 
"We are proud of Tom today, Stybar was just better we can say," said coach Rudi Kemna. "It was a good break for us from the beginning, so we controlled where necessary and knew Tom had to stay close to Stybar. When Stybar attacked in the final kilometres he just could not follow and that is racing.
 
"We are proud of this second place, we proved that we have the ability, and also when it comes to the general classification in WorldTour races, especially in these kind of races with time trials and small mountains.
 
"We are working on a dedicated training plan to bring our young talents to the next level and it is good to see that they are now proving that they can perform at this level and that there is still space growth."