Neo-pro Mike Teunissen finished ninth in the second and final stage of the World Ports Classic. The 164-kilometer long stage between Antwerp and Rotterdam was won by the Belgian Kris Boeckmans of Lotto-Soudal, who also claimed the final classification.

Everything went according to plan until four kilometers from the finish when a massive crash eliminated many riders including LottoNL-Jumbo rider Barry Markus.

"It was basically a simple story, a simple bunch sprint," said sports director Merijn Zeeman after the tumultuous finish in Rotterdam. "But four kilometers from the finish, a fall in third place eliminated all the teams with sprinters. Only Lotto-Soudal didn’t crash. Barry was also stopped by the crash, only Timo Roosen and Mike Teunissen where not involved. Mike sprinted to ninth, but he’s not a sprinter. I would have liked to see the team sprint for victory but unfortunately this was not the case."

Crash
Barry Markus and Robert Wagner were in good position when suddenly a rider in front of them hit the tarmac.

"I was with Wagner and at the front when suddenly a rider fell," said Barry Markus. “I didn’t crash but I had to brake fully to save my skin and came to a standstill. Like that, it's difficult to come back to the group. I almost managed to close the gap on the line to save my ranking."

Standings
Because of the gap in the peloton the overall standings went head over heels. Kris Boeckmans won the stage and the GC. Mike Teunissen falls just outside the top ten.

"We could still reasonably get away after the crash but Lotto-Soudal was pulling very hard," said Mike Teunissen. "So the group with Barry could not come back. We are fortunate that no one fell because the fall happened at the front of the group. I tried to get in the mix and finished ninth."