Having shown improving condition throughout the five-day race, Nick van der Lijke was in a great position for the sprint in the queen stage of the Tour de Wallonie. However, it all came to nothing when he hit the deck in the finale.

Nick van der Lijke was ready to conclude a strong week in southern Belgium with a top finish in the Tour de Wallonie, but a crash took out the Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM sprinter. 

Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) won the 180-kilometre stage from Malmedy to Ans and secured the overall victory. 
 

“I was positioned quite well for the sprint, but when a rider in front of me was sandwiched and braked, I couldn’t move out anymore and I hit the asphalt,” said Van der Lijke. “I’m very disappointed. My legs felt stronger than during this week’s other stages and I felt that this was my chance to get a good result. I’m pretty banged up, but hopefully, I’ll recover quickly so that I’m able to have a nice ride on Saturday in San Sebastian.” 

Michiel Elijzen felt for his rider afterwards.

“This is very sad for Nick,” said the sports director. “He’s been doing great this week and normally, he’s pretty fast in a sprint.” 
 

Jonathan Hivert maintained himself well on the hilly course around Liège and finished safely in the first group. Nevertheless, the Frenchman was upset afterwards and said, “I was good and should have attacked in the final.” 

Elijzen looks back on the week in Wallonia with mixed feelings.

“One of the things we wanted to accomplish here was to build a good foundation for the rest of the season. Barry Markus, Rick Flens and Jos van Emden all had to abandon due to illness, which is a minor setback because it obviously hurts your condition. Nick and Jonathan, however, have done well and will benefit from this. Theo Bos needs to improve a bit in the build-up to the Tour of Poland, which starts on Sunday.”