A massive crash has completely thwarted the game plan of Team LottoNL-Jumbo in the E3 Prijs-Harelbeke. This happened halfway during the race, after which three-quarters of the peloton was eliminated. This also applied to Team LottoNL-Jumbo.

Sports director Nico Verhoeven had to console himself with the thought that his team didn’t suffer too many injuries. “The crash halfway through the race was decisive for the rest of the race. In our case, Tom Leezer, Timo Roosen and Jos van Emden were involved. Van Emden came out of it ok. Tom is suffering from his hand and Timo from his knee. But all in all the damage is limited. Everyone is still alive. Because of the crash, we actually couldn’t see whether we would have been good enough to compete for a top result. But that’s also part of cycling.”

Verhoeven now shifts his focus to the upcoming races. “With Dylan Groenewegen and Danny van Poppel we have two competent men for Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen. We are looking forward to that now. The presence of Dylan and Danny provides new morale to the rest of the team to join them in the hunt for more glory.”