Gorik Gardeyn of Veranclassic-Doltcin joined today’s breakaway in the Tour de l’Eurometropole. The former Vacansoleil-DCM and Lotto rider Gardeyn had hoped that he could try off his luck in the breakaway, which unfortunately for him didn’t last to the line.

Gardeyn says it was discussed at the beginning of the day whether or not he should join the breakaway and he actually did.

"It was an order to find myself in the break of day. So the main objective was acquired. We have given a lot in the beginning to build us a great advantage. I may have given too much in the first part of the race. At the end of the race, it was traveling at block to try to resist the pack and with the big rollers like Hayman, at the end I exploded,” Gorik Gardeyn told Direct Velo.

According to the Belgian the only thing which separated them from the chance of winning was  two or three more riders in the breakaway.

“Now I knew that we had virtually no chance to go all the way. If we had been accompanied by two or three more runners, it might have worked. Now I'm not sure that the pack would have given us such a credit if we were seven or eight in the group ahead,” Gorik Gardeyn said.