Belkin had hoped to win today's stage of the Tour of Turkey with Moreno Hofland but the teams plans came to nothing when the young sprinter fell ill overnight and didn't take the start. While he saved himself to get ready for the Tour of California, Paul Martens took over sprinting duties for the Dutch team.

Paul Martens was the best Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rider of the day in today’s fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie. The German finished 14th in Fribourg, Switzerland, where the stage started and finished. Nine seconds ahead of Martens sprint, Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) proved to be the strongest rider of a three-man escape. 

“This fourteenth place doesn’t mean so much to me,” said Martens. “After the classics, in which I gave a lot, I’m not at my best anymore. I wanted to do well here, but physically and mentally I’m not 100 per cent any more. At this level you have to be at the top of your game to get a good result. I was struggling to stay in the front as it was very technical in the final.” 

Moreno Hofland could not start today’s stage because of illness. It disrupted Sports Director Erik Dekker’s plans.

“That was unfortunate as this stage really suited Moreno. We wanted to bag a result with him. We have decided not to start him, however, as he will travel to the US for the Tour of California on Wednesday."

The Tour de Romandie will end with an 18.5-kilometre time trial tomorrow. Team specialists Stef Clement and Jack Bobridge will target a result.

“Jack is doing really well this week,” said Martens. "Not everyone notices that, but I’m his team-mate and I’ve seen that he’s strong. Hopefully he does a good time trial. As a team we’re going to support him.”