Tinkoff-Saxo sports director Patxi Vila commented on the final day of the Eneco Tour that saw the peloton ride 188.5km from St.Pieters-Leeuw to Geraardsbergen on a demanding hilly terrain with pavés section:
"Today's stage was very similar to the Tour of Flanders with lots of shorts climbs and cobblestone sections, nearly 190 km long. It was a tough stage and after a week of racing we knew it would be intense. Yesterday and the day before were marked by heavy rain, but, fortunately, today the weather was more favorable.
"There was a big breakaway from the early part of the stage and despite that being our plan, we were unable to get any of our riders there. The selection was tough and we were unable to make it. From that point, our strategy was to wait until the final stretch of the race with its three hard climbs. That was where the Eneco Tour was going to be decided and where we could advance in the GC or lose ground.
"We got Valgren into the breakaway in the final circuit, so that we could be in the front if Rogers or Juul-Jensen made a move. They were both well-placed but the GC was very tight and at the end, a few seconds cost one place for both of them."
Mick Rogers and Juul-Jensen finished the Eneco Tour seventh and ninth, respectively, 2:02 and 2:11 behind overall winner Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal). According to Vila, the team is satisfied with its overall performance through the week of racing:
"Overall, taking into consideration the riders we had here and the race, I could say that frankly and realistically there wasn't much more we could do. I think that having two riders in the top ten should make us happy. Obviously, one always aspires to more. This morning we were sixth and eighth overall, and we slipped one spot.
"However, a part of the team came straight from a fantastic performance in the Tour of Denmark, another part came from the Tour de Pologne while Mick Rogers had a tough Giro and Tour de France. The effort Juul-Jensen put in winning the Tour of Denmark and here, is equivalent to more than half a Grand Tour. I, honestly, don't think we could have expected more and we can be satisfied with our performance."
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