With a course made up of several small classics, the Eneco Tour is tailor-made for Sep Vanmarcke and today he showed his intentions by sprinting to 9th in the opening stage. Having originally wanted to go on the attack, the Belgian claims to feel better than expected.

Sep Vanmarcke sprinted to ninth place today in Terneuzen in the first stage of the Eneco Tour. The Belgian classic specialist of the Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM took the bull by the horns in the hectic finale, which ended with a sprint victory for Andrea Guardini of Astana.

“There was a lot of stress today and in the final kilometre, there was true chaos,” said Vanmarcke. “There was little structure in the sprint, so I wanted to attack in the final kilometre. I felt good and went early, but as there was a headwind, many riders were able to pass me."
 

Vanmarcke isn’t thinking of Friday too much already. On that day, around Geraardsbergen, the peloton will ride a mini version of the Tour of Flanders.

“I feel better than expected, but I’m just focussing on the coming days at the moment. I want to survive those stages, preferably without time losses. After that, I’ll start thinking about Friday.”
 

Jan Boven thought that there were some opportunities today for his team on the windy and open course in Zeeland, the Netherlands. Afterwards he admitted that a bunch sprint was inevitable.

“On a day like today there could have been some real echelons, but this is a WorldTour race, and despite the fact that everyone was ready, no one dared to go all the way. The finale was hectic, but in the end, the selection was from the back and not the front.”
 

Lars Boom won the second bonus sprint of the day on Monday and thus stole some seconds. The Dutchman is now fifth overall, just seven seconds behind Guardini. Tomorrow’s second stage finishes in Vlijmen, Boom’s hometown. Last year, the 28-year old Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rider snatched the white jersey on home ground.

“Lars did well by taking those three seconds, but for us taking the overall lead isn’t really a goal”, said Boven. “We just want to keep our leaders in the race. With Lars we have the best guide possible and we wish to benefit from his knowledge of area. That doesn’t mean that Lars won't be highly motivated. Finishing in your hometown is very special.”