Roy Jans finished second in the Münsterland Giro on Saturday. It's a race of the 1.HC category, the second highest rank in global cycling. For Jans it was his ninth top 5 of the season and the fourth in the last four weeks. 

"Actually, I didn't feel all that well today. I have been ill this week and I still feel the consequences of that," he explains. "Only when we arrived on the local circuit, at 15 kilometres from the line, I felt better. I have won races before when I wasn't feeling great so quitting never even crossed my mind." 

Next to Jans, James Vanlandschoot, Lander Seynaeve, Kevin Callebaut, Fréderique Robert and Jan Ghyselinck lined up for the 180-kilometre long race in the German town of Münster. The story of the race was predictable: a breakaway rode clear without any representation of Wanty-Groupe Gobert. Big teams like Lotto-Soudal and Etixx-Quick Step controlled the chase. 

Roy Jans was well-positioned in the final. "Lander, Kevin and James kept me at the front and safe all day. In the local laps I made sure to keep my position at the front because it was a technical circuit. When I wanted to start the sprint I tried to switch my gearing to eleven but it didn't work. I had to sit down again to try again. By that time Tom Boonen was gone already." 

The Belgian sprinter is on good form. In the Brussels Cycling Classic he was less than a centimetre away from the win and also in the Kustpijl (3rd), Primus Classic Impanis (6th) and the GP Isbergues (5th) Jans showed this form. 

"I have four races left this season and in each of these races I have a good chance to win. I am confident I could have won here today if I got the gearing right straight away. I hope that second win of the season comes in Binche-Chimay-Binche, Paris-Bourges, Paris-Tours or the Sluitingsprijs," Jans concludes.