Eneco Tour stage 1

After a fairly good prologue yesterday (I didn't take any risks in the corners) the first stage of the Eneco Tour took place today. 178km from Steenwijk to Rhenen with an uphill finish on the Grebbeberg, a climb of about 600m, with a tough finish so. The weather went well during the day with sun at the begining of the stage, then after 50km there was some downpour and then it was sunny again and the roads dried up.

At the start of the stage three riders got away with Skil-Shimano represented with breakaway specialist Albert Timmer. The Garmin team of leader Tuft did not let the three get much space with the advantage hovering around the three minute mark. Due to the fact that everyone rode the start of the race leisurely enough, the finale was hectic and the peloton was really nervous. The finale began with a big crash that I only heard as I was ahead when it happened. After that it was tough with a side wind and there were a few more crashes so in the end it was a peloton of 90 that rode to the finish. I felt good and seen as our team sprinters, Kenny van Hummel and Tom Veelers, didn't feel very good I went for the sprint. I was well placed on Greipel's wheel. We tried a few times to go to the left but we were boxed in and a group of 20 riders passed by on the right hand side of the road. The sprint itself went well and I was able to pass several riders to come to 13th place. It was a shame though as normally being in Greipel's wheel is a great wheel to be in.

Either way I can see that I'm in good form and if I get some chances this week I can go for a good result!
Greetings Koen