Moreno Hofland finished second in the second stage of the Tour of Denmark today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprinter had to start his final sprint early in Sønderborg. He held off Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff) perfectly, but saw Magnus Cort Nielsen (Postnord Danmark) pass just before the finish line.

“You don’t always have control on who crosses the line first,” Sports Director Jan Boven said. In an exciting final part of the stage in which Lars Boom (Astana) and Michael Valgren (Tinkoff) tried to escape ahead of the bunch sprint, Hofland had to start his final sprint early to catch Valgren. “He didn’t have a choice. We had to make every possible effort and Moreno did it very well. It just was a little bit too long to the finish line to win.”

Team effort

Hofland’s second place was a team effort according to Boven. “It’s great to see that the men are riding together like a team and giving it their all,” he continued. “Mike Teunissen and Dennis van Winden set the pace in the peloton for a long time. Jos van Emden took control in the final part of the race and Tom Leezer delivered a great job afterwards. Tom Van Asbroeck was able to hold the pace for Moreno.”

“I still had to start my sprint a little bit too early in the end,” Hofland added. “The finish went slightly uphill, as well, so it wasn’t a sprint at high speed. I delivered a good final kick. I saw that Bennati was right behind me, but he wasn’t able to pass me. That was a good sign, but suddenly Cort Nielsen appeared to win it. I can’t be disappointed about this one because we did the best we could. We really delivered a strong final part of the race with the team.”