Neo-pro Nick van der Lijke is having a rare chance to ride for himself in the Tour de Wallonie and today he scored his first top 5 result in the race. His performance in today's stage provides him with lots of confidence for tomorrow's queen stage.

The Belkin Pro Cycling Team’s Nick van der Lijke nearly made the podium in the Tour de Wallonie today in Waremme. He sprinted to fifth after 174 kilometres behind stage winner Tom Van Asbroeck (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise). 

“Jonathan [Hivert] kept me out of the wind perfectly,” Van der Lijke said. “In the sprint, I chose my own way. That’s how I like to sprint. I went from wheel to wheel, but eventually, got boxed in and I wasn’t able to truly start my sprint before the 250-metre mark. That made it a hard finish, but my legs were fine and I ended up in the top five, which is still a good result.” 
 

“Today’s start was very fast and before there was a breakaway, the field shattered several times,” said Sports Director Jan Boven. “As a result, we lost Rick Flens and Jos van Emden, who aren’t completely fit. We only had three men in the race, which is of course, a pity. 

“Theo Bos had a very good day and fought to get over the last climb, but was dropped in the end. Nick and Jonathan maintained themselves perfectly in the first group, after which Nick did a good sprint. Compliments to him, he has been looking strong all week.” 
 

Tomorrow’s final stage has a similar profile to Liège-Bastogne-Liège’s. Van der Lijke hopes to hang on until the final metres again. 

“I was able to follow the first riders pretty easily over the final climb today. I didn’t really have to dig deep. If my legs are just as good tomorrow then I can perhaps finish near the podium again. Jonathan and I will make a plan because we want at least one of us to get close. It would be nice to finish the race with a bang.”