The hope that Edward Theuns would take the pink jersey in the queen stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk was great at Topsport Vlaanderen. That dream got a first blow when Theuns in the finale lost his teammate Tim Declercq and was completely isolated. When it came to the decisive moment, Theuns cracked completely.

"Theuns cannot be blamed. He tried to win this race and failed to do so. That's just racing," team manager Hans De Clercq told Het Nieuwsblad. "Of course we were unlucky when Declercq crashed in a curve in Cassel. This Theuns was alone in the front of the pack. When the attacks then really started, it turned out that he had no great day."

"But there is no reason to be very negative. After all, we came to the Four Days of Dunkirk with a lot of question marks. Remember that a group of riders, including Theuns, came back after a short break. The first day maybe went too well with a second place for Theuns, a sixth place for Pieter Vanspeybrouck, a seventh for Declercq, Preben Van Hecke in the polka dot jersey and a lead in the teams classification. Of course you hope for more, but we can not be dissatisfied with our race and maybe there is still something to achieve on Sunday."