Belkin may not have won the opening prologue of the Ster ZLM Toer but with 5 riders in the top 18, they kept their options open for later in the race. With a hard stage in the Ardennes coming up, Paul Martens has put himself in a good position to challenge for the overall.

The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM made a fine start at the Ster ZLM Toer on Wednesday. Jos van Emden completed the 7.8-kilometre prologue, with the start and finish in Bladel, the Netherlands, in 8:41 to finish eighth. BMC’s Philippe Gilbert won the race. 

“For us this was a good time trial,” said Michiel Elijzen. “With several of our riders we’re bunched between the eighth and 18th place. That’s not great, but it’s something we can build on. Especially Paul Martens, regarding the Ardennes stage.” 

Just after the first riders had started, the prologue was postponed due to a fire in a house along the parcours. Fire trucks needed to use the prologue roads, forcing the racers to wait. After 20 minutes, the race resumed. A crash by Belgian Kenneth Vanbilsen was responsible for a second stop in the action. 

Van Emden was already warming up when Vanbilsen hit the tarmac, but he wasn’t bothered by it too much.

“But I’m not quite satisfied with this eighth place. I’d hoped for more, but my legs just didn’t have enough power, and I still finished eighth despite this bad feeling. I know I can do better, hopefully I’ll improve in the coming days.” 

The Ster ZLM Toer, won by Lars Boom last year, will truly kick into gear Thursday with an 184-kilometre stage from Rucphen to St. Willibrord. The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM will do its best to help Theo Bos to sprint for the victory. 

“I expect a bit of a hectic stage,” said Elijzen. “The roads are pretty narrow. Lotto-Belisol and Giant-Shimano will control the race in order to force a sprint. We also want a sprint for Theo. We’ll need to be attentive.”