Taylor Phinney (BMC) was one of the favourites in yesterday's time trial of the Eneco Tour but the worlds silver medallist had to settle for 6th. Having had good sensations, the American was surprised to find himself so far down the ranking and now sets his sights on the tough weekend stages.

Taylor Phinney is one of the very best time triallists in the world and was intent on laying the foundation for a great GC result in the Eneco Tour in yesterday's 13,2km time trial. With pre-stage favourite Bradley Wiggins (Sky) far off the mark, the American had fancied his chances of winning the stage.

However, the American struggled on the hilly course and ended up 6th, 11 seconds behind stage winner Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). Having felt good along the way, the BMC riders was surprised that he didn't end closer to the top step of the podium.

"Maybe I could have started out a bit faster," he said. "I was a bit surprised I ended up losing so much time in the end because I felt good."

Phinney crashed two days ago and that may go some way to explain his time loss. Sitting 4th on GC, he is still in the mix but with a hard stage in the Ardennes coming up, the going may be a little too tough for the American.

Instead, Sunday's stage which is a mini Tour of Flanders is more suited to the cobbled classics specialist.

"Two pretty hard stages are coming up," he said. "Tomorrow's stage is a bit harder than Sunday's stage. Sunday's stage is a nice stage for me."

The team's best GC option may be world champion Philippe Gilbert who limited his losses yesterday by finishing 10th. Being 6th on GC 18 seconds behind race leader Lars Boom (Belkin), the Belgian has a good opportunity to take over the lead by virtue of bonus seconds in the two final uphill finishes.

Sports director Fabio Baldato remains confident.

"Philippe's time wasn't bad," he said. "They're both right there and can do something." 

Today's stage in the Ardennes finishes on the famous Cote de La Redoute as is the hardest ever in the Eneco Tour. Starting at 14.30 CEST you can follow it on CyclingQuotes.com/live.