A punishing pace on an undulating parcours meant that Tinkoff-Saxo’s fast men Trusov, Kolar and Mørkøv were absent in the fight for the top results. Sean de Bie took the race win with Tinkoff-Saxo stagiaire Antwan Tolhoek finishing 21st after 199km of racing in Belgium.

Although missing out on a result, Tinkoff-Saxo’s Head Sports Director Steven de Jongh tells that the team did what they could.

“After the last steep climb the peloton was totally broken. Antwan and Evgeny [Petrov] made it in the diminished main group, while Michael Kolar nearly made it but fell just a bit short of bridging the gap. It was unfortunate for the team, as it meant that we didn’t have anybody for the finale sprint. Antwan tried to get away and he got a gap with a small group but was caught before the absolute finale, where Sean de Bie then countered and finally took the win. It was a strong move and you got to give credit to him and Lotto today”, says Steven de Jongh.

“Antwan finished 21st and he did a really good race, the same goes for Evgeny but neither of them are sprinters or fast in these kinds of finales. Antwan had a crash already in the neutral zone, where a couple of riders hit the ground. But he got a new bike and ended up performing well”, adds de Jongh about the 199km Primus Classic Impanis – Van Petegem from Brakel to Boortmeerbeek.

The weekend racing continues Sunday with another one-day event, as the riders tackle the French Grand Prix d’Isbergues – Pas de Calais.

Tinkoff-Saxo lines up the same squad consisting of Nikolay Trusov, Michael Mørkøv, Michael Kolar, Matteo Tosatto, Bruno Pires, Edward Beltran, Evgeny Petrov and stagiaire Antwan Tolhoek.

“GP d’Isbergues is less hillier than today’s Impanis – Van Petegem so let’s hope that our guys have the legs to do a good result like we did Friday. Mørkøv, Kolar and Trusov should stand a chance and I think the race will be more controlled than today. We got to keep on our toes and be ready to grasp the opportunities if they arise. At the same time, we will naturally focus on bringing our guys into a good position if the race finishes in a bunch sprint”, tells Steven de Jongh to the Tinkoff-Saxo website.