LottoNL-Jumbo’s cyclists were unable to enter the yellow-jersey fight in Paris-Nice when the stage race wrapped up today. During the final stage to Nice, Tom Leezer led the team over the finish line in 109th place. He was closely followed by Bram Tankink, who slipped from 19th place in the overall standings to 28^th.

“Although I had pain in my back, I rode as fast as possible,” Tankink said.

“I tried to defend my GC-position, but it turned out I wasn’t good enough. First, I want to recover from my back pain and then, we go on to the classics.”

After the abandon of a sick Steven Kruijswijk and Stef Clement, Tankink was left to lead the team for the overall classification. The task was too much against cyclists like Alberto Contador and Sergio Henao, the overall winner.

Contador battled for the yellow jersey with Henao in the final stage today. Henao strongly defended his jersey despite a massive effort from Contador, who moved within two seconds of the lead. LottoNL-Jumbo, unfortunately, was unable to play a role in that fight without its big hitters like Kruijswijk.