Having initially finished the race in seventh overall, Niki Terpstra was disqualified from the Eneco Tour after having used his elbow to push Maarten Wynants in the battle for position in the final stage. The Paris-Roubaix champion takes full responsibility for his actions and is deeply sorry to have put his colleagues in danger.

Niki Terpstra seemed to have scored important WorldTour points for Omega Pharma-Quick Step when he finished the Eneco Tour in 7th overall. However, the Paris-Roubaix winner has now been disqualified by the commissaires after he had used his elbow to push Maarten Wynants out of position in the battle for position on one of the late climbs.

"I'm sorry for what I did," Terpstra said. "I don't know who I was in that moment. I want to apologize first to Wynants and Team Belkin, because I put other riders in jeopardy with my actions and it is something you simply don't do in the peloton.

"But I want to also apologize to my team and the guys who were specifically here racing at the Eneco Tour. They worked hard for me all week and then I ruined their effort with this foolish action. I take full responsibility for my behavior.

"Everybody knows I'm a guy with a lot of charisma, but it does not turn into abrasive behavior on the bike that can harm others. Today was out of character. I'll take this as an important lesson on how to handle situations the right way for the sake of myself, my team, other teams in the peloton, and cycling in general including the fans."