Moreno Hofland wasn’t able to sprint the way he wanted to in the third stage of the Eneco Tour on Wednesday. The Team LottoNL-Jumbo sprinter finished 24th in Ardooie, Belgium. Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) rushed to victory for his home crowd. Wilco Kelderman placed 20th and seems to be ready for the tough final bout in the Dutch-Belgium stage race.

“We lost contact quite a few times in the final kilometres. Sometimes we were with two, but never all together,” Hofland said. “We had to move up several times, and when the real sprint started, I had already done like five sprints to get back into position. No matter if you’re in good condition, you’re just done after so many efforts.”

Sport Director Nico Verhoeven saw a fierce sprint battle in Ardooie.

“There are a lot of sprinters here, and every team has its own train. We have failed to gain a good position in the sprints over the last few days, and were unable to get into the mix for victory.”

Despite the fact that the openings days didn’t go as expected, Verhoeven looks forward to the second part of the Eneco Tour with optimism.

“The sprints are now behind us,” Verhoeven said. “Tomorrow starts a new chapter. From now on, it’s up to the overall riders. Wilco Kelderman has started the race well. He finished 20th today, and shows that he’s OK. That is an encouraging sign. With a good TT, we want to lay a foundation for a good overall.”

Verhoeven is not counting only on Dutch TT champion Kelderman in the 14-kilometre time trial in Hoogerheide on Thursday.

“Recently, Jos van Emden and Rick Flens have been strong in the time trials. Mike Teunissen winning the prologue of the Tour de l’Ain on his Bianchi Aquila CV gives everyone extra confidence.”