Wilco Kelderman and Robert Gesink placed 13th and 15th in Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s front men aimed for a top 10 spot, but fell short of that. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) took home the victory.

“We wanted to see Wilco and Robert approaching the Mur de Huy convincingly to deliver a good result,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said. “We’re going home with 13th and 15^th, and that’s not what we came for.

“You can see that we’re developing as a team and we’re fulfilling our tasks better and better. Koen Bouwman performed strongly to be in the breakaway. That was noticeable. It wasn’t easy to make that breakaway because it was a 60-kilometre fight beforehand. On the penultimate climb, we were in good position, and Paul Martens worked well there. Enrico Battaglin brought the front men to the foot of the Mur de Huy perfectly afterwards. The team did a good job, so we need to work further with Wilco and Robert now.”

More explosive

Robert Gesink agreed that his team-mates were strong. “We saved Enrico for the final kilometres before the Mur de Huy,” he explained. “That went well and the other men were very strong earlier. We did fine as a team, but we missed the result we wanted. I wanted to finish top 10, but I failed. I need to become more explosive or be able to go deeper.”

Wilco Kelderman wasn’t satisfied, either. “I wanted more than this 13th place,” he said. “When they attacked on the Mur de Huy, a gap opened just in front of me and I wasn’t able to hold on anymore. I exploded in the end and several riders passed me afterwards.”

‘A beautiful reward’

For Koen Bouwman, Wednesday was a beautiful day. After a long fight, he earned a spot in the breakaway. “It was my aim to be in the break, but it took quite a long time before we had a gap,” the neo-professional said. “I was there for more time than I imagined I would be. It was a beautiful reward. This was the best possible for me today.”