After his second place in last year’s edition, Scott Thwaites of BORA – ARGON 18 barely missed the podium at the Dutch classics Ronde van Drenthe. The 25-years old British rider had to settle for fifth place in a sprint out of lead group. Winner Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen) won ahead of Bert-Jan Lindemann (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Joey van Rhee (Cyclingteam Jo Piels).

“Scott was positioned perfectly on the wheel of the winner on the final kilometer. When the sprint was launched with 150 meters to go, a rider crossed Scott’s line so he touched the wheel of another rider. He had to stop his effort and lost his chance to score a result. It’s a pity that this happened, but this is cycling. We rode actively all day long and we sold ourselves well. It’s bitter that we ended up with no result despite a great performance”, BORA – ARGON 18 Sport Director Andre Schulze said after the race.

Tomorrow’s race Dwaars door Drenthe offers the chance to fight again for the win, as the classics specialists have to ride a very comparable course. “The course is slightly easier than today but we expect strong wind and some narrow roads. The wind will cause echelons so the race will be quite similar. We’ll ride actively and we try to fight for the win”, Schulze looks ahead.