Roy Jans came in second in Saturday's Brussels Cycling Classic, a race in the hors category. He was beaten by a tyre's width in the sprint by Dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen (Team Roompot Oranje Peloton).

"It was really, really close. At 50 metres from the line I thought I had won. It's frustrating to be beaten by mere centimetres after the difficult season it has already been so far," Jans declared.  "I've seen the photo and just have to accept the fact that I didn't win. It has been a difficult season for me. I felt really good today and positioned me constantly near the front of the peloton. But it was not to be. Apparently I was just not fast enough to keep Dylan Groenewegen behind me. The photo shows it clearly."

Early on in the race Wanty-Groupe Gobert, represented by Bjorn Leukemans, Frederik Backaert, Roy Jans, Marco Marcato, Kévin Van Melsen, Frederik Veuchelen, Enrico Gasparotto and Danilo Napolitano, showed that after the past succesful weeks it was still very ambitious.

Kévin Van Melsen was the designated rider in the early breakaway and stayed up front up till 45 kilometres from the line.

"My condition is still poor after my knee surgery earlier in the year. It's better to ride up front then but we never got a big gap. When the gap dropped to 1m20s we rode à bloc, but the peloton behind us started racing as well," Van Melsen said.

After the group with Van Melsen was caught, the race started in earnest. Many attacks followed each other. On the Meningberg it was Frederik Veuchelen who tried but he quickly got countered by Warren Barguil.

At 30 kilometres from the line the other Backaert tried. He got company from Daan Myngheer, but their lead never exceeded ten seconds. The fact Backaert rode in the front meant his teammates in the peloton didn't have to do any work of course. At ten kilometres from the finish Backaert was caught and a bunch sprint became inevitable.

The duel between Dylan Groenewegen and Roy Jans was a very tight one. Roy Jans was declared the winner at first but after studying the photo finish more closely, the jury awarded the win to Groenewegen. Jans had to settle for second.

Wanty-Groupe Gobert has another chance for a good result on Sunday in the Grand Prix de Fourmies, another race in the hors category. Marcato, Baugnies, Stenuit, Napolitano, Gasparotto, De Greef, Minnaard and De Troyer line up in the north of France.